JUDSON 

THE  PIONEER 

J  -M  ERVIN  •  HULL 


SL.2-; 


*** 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


%. 


^ 


Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


BV  3271  .J7  H8  1913 
Hull,  John  Mervin,  1854- 
Judson  the  pioneer 


\ 


Judson  the  Pioneer 


BURMAN    BUDDHIST    PRIEST    AND    BOY    BEGGING 


Judson  the  Pioneer 


FEB  23  19 
By  J.  MERVIN  HULL      *sQ&lOp\n\  «0 


Published  in  Connection  with  the  Centennial 
of  the 

American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society 

by  the 

American  Baptist  Publication  Society 

Philadelphia 
Boston  Chicago  St.  Louis 


Copyright  1913  by 
A.  J.  ROWLAND,  Secretary 


Published  December,  1913 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

Others  have  labored,  and  the  writer  of  this  little 
book  has  entered  into  their  labors.  The  original 
"Memoir,"  by  Doctor  Wayland;  the  fine  "Life 
of  Judson,"  by  his  son  Edward;  the  "  Life  of  Ann 
Judson,"  by  J.  D.  Knowles,  were  the  principal 
books  consulted.  The  description  of  the  Salem 
Ordination  is  principally  from  an  article  by  Dr. 
James  M.  Hill,  and  much  of  the  sequence  of  events 
leading  to  the  organization  of  the  Triennial  Con- 
vention was  furnished  by  Rev.  A.  W.  Smith,  of 
the  New  England  Baptist  Library.  From  these 
and  all  other  available  sources  the  endeavor  has 
been  made  to  select  those  scenes  and  incidents 
which  reveal  the  character  of  Adoniram  Judson, 
and  set  forth  his  career  as 

THE  PIONEER. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.  The  Smart  Boy  of  Bell  Rock i 

II.  From  Judson  to  Johnson  and  Back 

Again 12 

III.  Enlisting  for  Life 23 

IV.  Captured  by  a  Privateer 34 

V.  A  Great  Day  and  a  Long  Voyage  . .  45 

VI.  The  Trouble  Begins 56 

VII.  A   Letter   that    Sounded   the 

Reveille 68 

VIII.  The  Pioneer  Facing  the  Wilder- 
ness    79 

IX.  The  Pioneer  Blazing  the  Way.  . .  91 

X.  Entering  the  Golden  City 107 

XL  With  Spotted  Face  and  Tiger  Cat  i  19 

XII.  Ann  Judson's  Revenge 139 

XIII.  The  Mysterious  Pillow 153 

XIV.  Echoes  from  Moulmein 166 

XV.  The  Pioneer's  Farewell 174 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Where  the  Pioneer  was  bom 2 

How  Brown  University  looked  zuhen  Judson 

graduated 16 

The  Pioneer 26 

"  Sweet,  merry  Ann  Hasscltine  " jo 

Sailing  from  Salem  on  the  "  Caravan  " 50 

Where  the  Pioneer  and  his  wife  were  bap- 
tised   54 

In  Memory  of  the  Pioneer 54 

The  sacred  Shwe  Dagon  Pagoda 82 

"  Every  Burman  boy  is  initiated  as  a  priest "  86 
"  Stand  with  Mr.  Judson  in  one  of  the  fa- 
mous caves  " 86 

Some  of  the  languages  of  Burma 92 

Part  of  the  Ten  Commandments  in  Bur- 
mese. 
Part  of  the  Ten  Commandments  in  Sgaw 

Karen. 
Part  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Shan. 
The  first  verses  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
in  Kachin. 
Burman  boys  worshiping  before  the  pagoda  104 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Traveling  on  elephants 116 

How  some  present-day  missionaries  travel.  .  116 

Chapel  on  the  site  of  the  Aungbinle  prison. .  142 

The  Judson  Memorial  Church  at  Mandalay . .  142 

Bitrman  officers  and  attendants 148 

Hopia  tree  near  the  grave  of  Ann  H  asset  tine 
Judson 156 

Franjipani  tree  planted  by  the  Pioneer 156 

The  Bible  in  Burmese,  translated  by  Judson .    160 

The  American  Baptist  Mission  Press  at  Ran- 
goon    160 

"  Judson  made  trips  to  the  Karen  villages  " . .  164 

Spreading  the  gospel  story  among  the  Karens  164 

A  heathen  Burman 168 

Christian  Burmans 168 

The  schools  have  their  football  teams 178 

Boys  of  a  mission  school  at  gymnastics 178 

Christians  at  Karen  jubilee 184 

A  Karen  choir  and  band 184 


JUDSON  THE  PIONEER 


THE  SMART  BOY  OF  BELL  ROCK 

HI,  boys,  there  goes  the  Bell  Rock  alarm! 
Come  on ! " 

The  boys  of  Maiden,  Massachusetts,  in  the  old 
Colonial  days  were  always  listening  for  the  Bell 
Rock  alarm.  It  was  a  church  bell,  but  it  wasn't 
in  a  church  tower.  It  was  swung  in  a  wooden 
frame  on  a  rounding  ledge  of  rock,  where  now  a 
noble  soldiers'  monument  stands.  It  not  only 
called  the  people  to  worship;  it  called  the  free- 
holders to  town  meeting,  and  in  times  of  danger 
from  Indians  or  other  enemies  it  sounded  a  swift 
alarm. 

Just  across  the  road  from  Bell  Rock  and 
the  old-fashioned  meeting-house  stood,  and  still 
stands,  the  Ministry  House,  as  the  parsonage  was 
called,  where  the  early  ministers  of  the  Congre- 

A  I 


2  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

gational  church  lived,  and  in  the  Bell  Rock  Minis- 
try House  was  born,  on  August  9,  1788,  a  bov 
whose  name  will  be  known  and  honored  as  long 
as  Bell  Rock  stands.  They  gave  him  his  father's 
name,  Adoniram  Judson,  and  he  was  destined  to 
hear  thousands  of  tinkling  bells  on  high  pagoda 
h'tees  in  a  land  far  from  Bell  Rock,  and  to  ring 
a  bell  himself  that  should  wake  up  thousands  to 
come  to  the  rescue  of  men. 

He  was  a  smart  boy,  that  Adoniram  Judson. 
There  is  no  record  left  as  to  whether  they  called 
him  "  Addy  "  or  "  Niram  "  for  a  baby  name,  but 
when  he  was  only  four  years  old  he  was  leading 
the  children  in  a  play  which  was  very  natural  for 
a  boy  born  in  the  Ministry  House.  He  used  to 
gather  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  together 
to  play  "  church."  Adoniram  was  the  minister, 
the  others  were  the  congregation.  There  was  no 
reporter  to  take  down  the  sermon,  but  in  after 
years  his  parents  used  to  say  that  his  favorite 
hymn  in  this  children's  church  was  the  one  be- 
ginning, "  Go  preach  my  gospel,  saith  the  Lord." 

A  few  years  later,  when  the  family  were  living 
in  Wenham,  Massachusetts,  where  they  moved  in 
1793,  the  boy's  mind  began  to  show  a  wonderful 
acuteness  and  eagerness  in  solving  all  sorts  of 


THE    SMART    BOY    OF    BELL   ROCK  3 

puzzles  and  problems,  possible  and  impossible. 
When  he  was  about  seven  years  old  he  said  to  his 
little  sister: 

"  See  here,  Abby,  they  have  told  me  that  the 
earth  is  round,  and  revolves  around  the  sun. 
Now  I  am  going  to  find  out  whether  the  sun  moves 
or  not." 

"  Why,  of  course  it  moves,"  said  the  innocent 
little  Abby,  "  I  can  see  it  move." 

"  Fudge,"  Adoniram  retorted,  "  I  want  to 
prove  it."  Soon  after  this  he  was  one  day  missed 
about  noon;  he  had  not  been  seen  for  several 
hours,  and  his  father  went  to  find  him.  He  found 
him  in  an  open  field,  stretched  on  his  back.  Over 
his  face  was  a  hat  with  a  circular  hole  cut  in  the 
crown.  Through  this  he  was  gazing  at  the  sun, 
and  his  swollen  eyes  were  almost  blinded  by  the 
light  and  heat.  He  told  his  father  only  that  he 
had  been  looking  at  the  sun ;  but  he  told  Abby  that 
he  knew  now  about  the  movements  of  the  sun, 
although  he  could  not  make  her  understand  what 
he  had  discovered. 

By  the  time  he  was  eight  or  ten  years  old  he 
had  quite  a  fame  among  his  playmates  as  Adoni- 
ram the  puzzler.  He  could  guess  any  riddle  or 
charade  and  solve  any  enigma  that  was  offered  to 


4  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

him;  and  he  made  it  a  point  to  store  up  a  great 
quantity  of  such  puzzles  and  "  spring  "  them  upon 
his  schoolmates.  One  of  these  enigmas  was  really 
a  turning-point  in  Judson's  life,  although  nobody 
realized  it  at  the  time.  In  a  newspaper  that  he 
was  reading  he  found  an  enigma  which  the  editor 
claimed  was  a  hard  nut  to  crack,  and  challenged 
any  of  his  readers  to  send  him  the  correct  answer. 

"  Ho ! "  exclaimed  the  smart  young  puzzler, 
"  I'll  bet  I  have  guessed  as  hard  riddles  as  that." 

So  he  went  at  it  with  all  his  enthusiasm  and 
keenness,  and  never  let  up  till  he  found  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  correct  answer.  He  told  no- 
body but  his  one  sharer  of  all  secrets,  his  adoring 
little  sister  Abby.  "  Look,  Abby,  I've  got  it  all 
nicely  copied  out,  and  I'm  going  to  address  it  to 
the  editor,  and  he  will  soon  see  that  his  riddle  is 
guessed.     Come  on  to  the  post-office  with  me." 

But  alas,  that  postmaster !  He  couldn't  think  of 
any  good  reason  why  a  small  boy  should  send  a 
letter  to  an  editor,  and  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  in- 
terfere. "  Some  nonsense  or  other,"  he  thought ; 
"  maybe  he's  trying  to  play  some  joke  on  the 
editor.  I'll  just  hand  the  letter  back  to  the  minis- 
ter, and  then  I  guess  that  smart  youngster  will  get 
his  come-uppance." 


THE   SMART    BOY    OF    BELL   ROCK  5 

Think  of  Adoniram's  feelings  when  he  saw  that 
letter  paraded  on  the  table  after  tea !  Goodness — 
no  chance  to  talk  about  it  even  with  sister  Abby. 
And  there  sat  his  father,  tall,  imposing,  unrelent- 
ing, "  like  a  censor  of  the  Romans,"  some  one 
described  him,  sternly  gazing  at  the  frightened 
puzzle-solver. 

"  Is  this  yours,  Adoniram?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  How  came  you  to  write  it?  " 

Silence. 

"What  is  it  about?" 

"  Please  read  it,  father." 

"  I  do  not  read  other  people's  letters." 

Adoniram  broke  the  seal,  and  in  a  trembling 
voice  read  the  letter,  and  placed  it  in  his  father's 
hands. 

He  read  it  carefully. 

"  Bring  me  the  newspaper  that  contained  the 
enigma." 

He  read  the  paper,  and  read  the  boy's  letter 
again.  Then  once  more,  and  again.  And  then 

He  spread  the  letter  and  newspaper  on  the 
table,  crossed  his  hands  upon  his  knees,  and  looked 
intently  into  the  fire.  Long  Adoniram  stood 
watching  him.    "  Will  he  punish  me  ?  "    "  Will  he 


6  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

praise  me  for  solving  the  riddle  ?  "  Over  and 
over  again  these  questions  chased  each  other 
through  his  mind. 

But  when  Adoniram  Judson,  the  father,  woke 
from  his  long  reverie,  he  said  not  a  word  about 
the  enigma,  nor  did  he  ever  mention  it  again. 
And  he  never  told  anybody  directly  what  he  was 
thinking  about  as  he  sat  there  in  silence.  But  we 
can  perhaps  guess  his  thought  from  what  he  said 
to  Adoniram  the  next  day : 

"  Since  you  are  so  fond  of  puzzles,  I  have 
bought  you  a  book  that  is  full  of  them,  and  when 
you  have  solved  all  those  in  this  book,  I  will  get 
you  another  with  harder  ones  in  it." 

Then  the  Censor  of  the  Romans,  without  in- 
tending to  do  it,  opened  the  window  of  his  heart 
so  that  anybody  could  look  in  and  see  the  treasure 
that  he  guarded  so  closely  there.  He  called 
Adoniram  to  him,  patted  him  on  the  head  with 
unusual  tenderness,  and  said  : 

"  You  are  a  very  acute  boy,  Adoniram,  and  I 
expect  you  to  become  a  great  man." 

Yes,  the  stern  Puritan  clergyman  had  been  see- 
ing visions  as  he  sat  there  before  the  fire,  and  the 
chief  figure  in  every  one  of  them  was  his  son 
Adoniram.    He  saw  him  a  great  scholar;  he  saw 


THE   SMART   BOY   OF   BELL   ROCK  7 

him  a  great  orator;  he  saw  him  a  great  man  of 
business,  even  a  great  statesman — nobody  can  tell 
how  high  the  visions  reached,  but  into  whatever 
field  of  life  they  took  Adoniram  he  was  every- 
where a  great  man.  And  when  he  patted  the  boy 
on  the  head  and  said,  "  I  expect  you  to  become  a 
great  man,"  he  sowed  the  seed  of  worldly  ambi- 
tion in  Adoniram's  heart,  and  it  grew  and  grew 
till  it  became  a  big,  strong,  cross-grained  tree 
standing  across  his  pathway,  and  had  to  be  cut 
down  with  much  hard  and  painful  labor  before 
he  could  go  forward  to  his  life-work. 

It  was  at  first  a  little  disappointing  to  Adoni- 
ram that  the  "  book  of  puzzles  "  which  his  father 
gave  him  turned  out  to  be  the  very  arithmetic 
which  the  older  boys  in  Master  Dodge's  school 
were  studying.  "  Never  mind,"  he  thought,  "  if 
there  are  any  first-class  puzzles  in  arithmetic, 
that's  the  book  for  me." 

So  he  went  at  it  with  his  usual  keenness  and  en- 
thusiasm, and  before  he  was  ten  years  old  he  had 
gained  quite  a  reputation  for  good  scholarship, 
especially  in  arithmetic,  so  much  so  that  a  gen- 
tleman who  lived  in  the  neighboring  town  of 
Beverly  sent  him  a  problem,  and  offered  him  a 
dollar  if  he  could  solve  it.     « 


8  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

That  just  suited  Adoniram.  The  dollar  looked 
good  to  him,  but  what  he  thought  of  most  of  all 
was  his  reputation  as  a  smart  scholar — that  was 
going  to  rise  or  fall  by  the  result.  He  shut  him- 
self in  his  room,  and  hardly  could  be  prevailed 
upon  to  leave  it  for  his  meals.  The  problem 
proved  to  be  a  tough  one.  He  made  pages  of 
figures,  but  still  the  knot  wouldn't  loosen.  He 
rumpled  up  his  hair  until,  if  we  may  judge  from 
some  of  his  pictures,  it  never  could  be  smoothed 
out  again. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  he  had  a  call. 
"  Come,  Adoniram,  and  play  with  your  little 
brother;  he  isn't  very  well,  and  you  can  amuse 
him." 

He  didn't  want  to  go  in  the  least.  There  was 
the  problem  unsolved,  and  there  was  his  reputa- 
tion as  a  smart  scholar.  But  he  went  instantly, 
without  a  word  of  remonstrance.  That  was  the 
way  children  were  trained  to  obey  their  parents 
in  those  days.  But  he  took  his  "  thinker  "  right 
along  with  him. 

What  he  had  to  do  was  to  build  a  house  out 
of  corn-cobs,  while  his  little  brother  watched  him. 
He  laid  an  unusually  strong  foundation,  putting 
each  cob  in  its  place  as  carefully  as  if  the  destiny 


THE   SMART   BOY   0F   BELL   ROCK  9 

of  the  world  depended  upon  it.  All  the  while  he 
was  thinking,  thinking  about  the  problem  that  he 
had  failed  to  master  in  two  days  of  hard  work. 
One  more  beam,  then  another,  and  another — and 
suddenly  with  one  sweep  of  his  hand  he  scattered 
the  cobs  all  over  the  room,  and  shouting,  "  I've 
got  it!  I've  got  it!  "  he  ran  to  his  room  and  re- 
corded the  solution  of  his  problem.  The  dollar 
was  won,  and  the  boy's  reputation  for  keenness 
more  firmly  established. 

"  Old  Virgil  dug  up,"  the  boys  at  the  grammar 
school  nicknamed  him.  He  was  a  favorite  with 
his  companions,  else  they  wouldn't  have  nick- 
named him  at  all — every  boy  understands  how 
that  is.  He  was  spirited,  self-confident,  very  ac- 
tive, and  energetic;  but  still  he  was  fonder  of  his 
books  than  of  play,  and  fondest  of  all  of  his  sister 
Abby.  Even  at  this  time  he  was  a  specially  fine 
scholar  in  Greek,  and  at  ten  years  of  age  he  took 
lessons  in  navigation  from  Captain  Morton,  and 
made  considerable  progress  in  that. 

If  you  ever  talce  a  trip  to  the  historic  town  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  stand  for  a  moment  upon  the 
famous  Plymouth  Rock,  be  sure  to  spend  a  few 
minutes  of  your  time  in  looking  up  the  reminders 
there  of  the  Pioneer  of  Burma.     For  in  1802, 


IO  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

when  Adoniram  was  fourteen  years  old,  the  Jud- 
son  family  moved  to  Plymouth,  where  the  elder 
Judson  became  the  pastor  of  the  Third  Congrega- 
tional Church,  and  from  that  time  onward  Plym- 
outh was  the  only  home  that  Adoniram  knew  in 
America.  In  the  house  on  Pleasant  Street,  Abby 
Judson  continued  to  live  until  her  death  in  1884. 
When  Adoniram  Judson  left  it  for  his  last  jour- 
ney to  Burma,  his  sister  closed  the  room  he  slept 
in,  and  never  allowed  it  to  be  opened  or  cared 
for.  As  Adoniram  left  it,  so  he  should  find  it  on 
his  return,  was  her  thought.  In  Pilgrim  Hall 
there  is  an  ancient  trunk  which  Judson  had  with 
him  in  Burma,  and  on  the  very  summit  of  Burial 
Hill  lie  the  remains  of  Judson's  mother,  sister, 
and  several  other  members  of  the  family,  and  there 
is  a  memorial  inscription  to  the  missionary.  This 
lot  is  easily  found,  as  it  is  near  the  tablet  which 
marks  the  site  of  the  ancient  watch-tower. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  from  Pilgrim  Plym- 
outh, Adoniram  took  the  journey  that  marked 
the  end  of  boyhood  and  the  beginning  of  young 
manhood.  In  1804  he  entered  Rhode  Island  Col- 
lege— soon  changed  to  Brown  University.  He 
was  only  sixteen  years  old,  but  he  entered  the 
sophomore   class.      He   was   the   same   kind    of 


THE  SMART   BOY   OF   BELL   ROCK  II 

leader  in  college  that  he  had  been  among  his  boy- 
hood schoolmates.  During  his  fifteenth  year  he 
had  been  unable  to  study  much  on  account  of 
illness,  and  so  after  entering  college  he  was 
obliged  to  devote  himself  very  closely  to  his 
studies.  Then  there  was  that  tree  of  ambition 
that  had  been  planted  in  his  heart.  He  wanted 
to  beat  everybody,  and  especially  he  wanted  to 
beat  John  Bailey,  the  only  member  of  the  class 
who  was  a  real  rival  to  him  in  scholarship,  and 
who  afterward  became  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Massachusetts.  One  classmate  said  of  him, 
"  I  have  no  recollection  that  Judson  ever  failed, 
or  even  hesitated,  in  recitation." 

And  in  1807  the  Smart  Boy  of  Bell  Rock  was 
graduated  from  Brown  University  as  the  leader 
of  his  class,  and  with  the  highest  appointment  for 
the  commencement  exercises. 


II 

FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AND  BACK  AGAIN 

YOU  can  feel  the  electric  thrill  in  this  letter 
after  more  than  a  hundred  years : 

Dear  Father:  I  have  got  it. 

Your  affectionate  son, 

A.  J. 

Oh,  yes,  "  Father  "  knew  what  "  affectionate 
son  "  had  got ;  he  was  expecting  it  all  the  time. 
It  was  "  son's  "  appointment  as  valedictorian  of 
his  class  in  college,  at  graduation. 

To  be  valedictorian  meant  a  good  deal  at  those 
old-time  college  commencements.  It  meant,  of 
course,  that  Adoniram  was  the  leader  of  his  class 
in  scholarship.  And  there,  in  the  front  seats, 
were  his  father  and  mother  and  his  sister  Abby, 
proudly  watching  him.  They  listened  to  his  ora- 
tion, and  thought  it  was  the  most  eloquent  that 
was  ever  spoken;  they  saw  the  learned  profes- 
sors bow  to  him  when  he  addressed  them,  and  last 
and  best  of  all,  they  saw  the  whole  class  arise 
12 


FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AND  BACK  AGAIN  13 

before  him  when  he  spoke  those  tender  and  beauti- 
ful words  of  farewell.  Abby  and  her  mother 
shed  happy  tears,  and  didn't  care  who  saw  them. 
The  sober  clergyman  tried  not  to  get  excited,  but 
didn't  succeed  very  well. 

All  this  shines  right  through  that  letter  of  four 
short  words;  that  is  why  it  was  sent.  When 
Adoniram  received  the  appointment  he  could 
hardly  keep  his  feet  on  the  ground.  Even  after 
the  letter  was  written,  he  walked  around  the 
streets  awhile  before  taking  the  letter  to  the  post- 
office,  to  quiet  the  beatings  of  his  heart,  so  that 
he  needn't  appear  crazy  in  case  he  should  happen 
to  meet  any  of  his  classmates — especially  John 
Bailey,  his  dear  friend  and  rival  for  the  appoint- 
ment. 

Now  there  was  another  letter  written  to  Adoni- 
ram's  father  before  that  time,  which  had  a  good 
many  more  than  four  words  in  it — big  ones  too, 
and  perhaps  it  had  something  to  do  with  the 
strange  course  that  Adoniram  took  just  after  he 
left  college.  The  letter  was  from  the  president 
of  Brown  University,  and  in  it  he  said :  "  I  must 
drop  you  a  word  concerning  your  son.  A  uni- 
form propriety  of  conduct,  as  well  as  an  intense 
application  to  study,  distinguishes  his  character. 


14  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Your  expectations  of  him,  however  sanguine, 
must  certainly  be  gratified.  I  most  heartily  con- 
gratulate you,  my  dear  sir,  in  the  prospect  which 
you  have  exhibited  in  this  amiable  and  promising 
son." 

Any  father  would  be  glad  to  get  a  letter  like 
that,  but  it  added  to  the  great  ambition  which  the 
minister  had  for  his  son,  and  then  too,  Adoniram 
himself  was  going  through  an  experience  at  that 
time,  about  two  years  before  he  entered  college, 
that  made  him  fall  right  in  with  the  ideas  of  his 
father. 

He  had  a  very  severe  illness,  and  was  weak  for 
months.  When  he  began  to  get  better,  he  spent 
many  long  days  and  nights  in  picturing  to  him- 
self his  future  life.  "I  will  be  an  orator!"  he 
thought,  "  and  sway  thousands  by  my  eloquence  " ; 
or,  "  I  will  be  a  poet,  and  the  world  shall  be  en- 
tranced by  the  beauty  of  my  lines  " ;  again,  "  I 
will  be  a  statesman,  and  nations  shall  be  guided 
by  my  wisdom." 

For  whatever  character  or  profession  he  hit 
upon  in  this  castle  building,  he  was  always  sure 
to  attain  to  the  highest  eminence;  so  much  so 
that  when  he  saw  himself  at  the  highest  pinnacle 
of  which  human  nature  is  capable,  he  felt  like 


FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AMD  BACK  AGAIN  1 5 

weeping  because  it  was  not  possible  to  go  any 
farther. 

Then,  one  day,  his  mind  began  to  dwell  on  re- 
ligious things.  Of  course  he  was  familiar  with 
the  Bible ;  of  course  he  had  been  carefully  taught 
the  principles  of  Christianity  in  his  father's  home. 
But  suddenly  he  realized  that  to  be  a  humble  fol- 
lower of  Christ  would  upset  most  of  his  dreams 
of  future  fame.  "  Adoniram  Judson  "  was  writ- 
ten all  over  every  profession  and  career  that 
he  had  been  thinking  of,  and  now  there  flashed 
into  his  mind  the  words,  "  Not  unto  us,  not  unto 
us,  but  to  thy  name.be  the  glory." 

There  was  an  inside  fight  right  then  and 
there,  and  the  side  of  right  got  beaten.  Adoni- 
ram had  always  said  and  thought,  so  far  as  he 
had  thought  anything  about  it,  that  he  wished  to 
become  truly  religious;  but  now  religion,  as  it 
seemed  to  him,  was  entirely  opposed  to  all  his 
ambitious  plans.  He  was  afraid  to  look  into  his 
own  heart,  lest  he  should  discover  what  he  did 
not  like  to  confess,  even  to  himself — that  he  did 
not  want  to  become  a  Christian. 

All  this  conflict,  remember,  was  going  on  in 
the  mind  and  heart  of  a  boy  not  yet  fifteen  years 
old.    He  was  fully  awake  to  the  vanity  of  a  selfish 


l6  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

career,  but  every  time  he  went  over  the  matter 
he  came  back  to  this :  "  My  father  has  told  me 
over  and  over  again  that  I  am  some  day  to  be- 
come a  great  man,  and  a  great  man  I  am  resolved 
to  be;  and  religion  can  take  care  of  itself." 

That  was  the  frame  of  mind  he  was  in  when 
he  went  to  college,  and  so  with  all  his  brightness, 
all  his  wonderful  intellectual  powers,  he  fell  an 
easy  victim  to  an  influence  that  overwhelmed 
many  young  men  at  that  time.  This  influence  was 
the  French  infidelity  which,  after  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  swept  over  America  like  a  flood.  The 
brilliant  atheistic  writings  of  Voltaire  were  trans- 
lated and  circulated,  including  his  prophecy  that 
the  "  Bible  would  soon  be  a  forgotten  book." 
Atheism  became  the  fashion  for  a  number  of  years 
to  an  extent  that  is  hard  to  realize  now,  and  young 
men  of  brains  were  supposed  to  be  superior  to  the 
"  mythology  "  of  the  Bible. 

In  the  class  above  Judson  was  a  talented,  witty, 
handsome,  attractive  young  fellow,  whose  name 
is  suppressed  in  the  memoirs  of  Judson,  but  we 
will  call  him,  for  convenience,  say,  Lanceford.  A 
strong  friendship  grew  up  between  Judson  and 
Lanceford,  founded  on  similar  tastes,  sympathies, 
and    intellectual    achievements;    and    Lanceford 


FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AND  BACK  AGAIN  1 7 

introduced  his  friend  into  the  "  freedom "  of 
unbelief.  This  fitted  in  exactly  with  Judson's 
unbounded  ambitions,  and  he  soon  became,  pro- 
fessedly at  least,  as  great  an  unbeliever  as  Lance- 
ford,  and  when  he  finished  his  college  course  he 
exulted  in  the  thought  that  he  stood  at  the  gate- 
way of  wealth,  fame,  success  to  the  utmost  limit, 
unfettered  by  the  least  hint  of  duty  to  God,  and 
unhampered  by  antiquated  religious  scruples. 

Of  course  he  must  make  a  beginning  in  some 
way,  and  he  did  it  in  a  way  most  natural  to  one 
of  his  intellectual  tendencies.  In  the  autumn  of 
1807  he  opened  a  private  academy  in  Plymouth, 
which  he  taught  for  nearly  a  year,  and  during 
that  time,  just  for  mental  exercise,  as  it  would 
seem,  he  wrote  and  published  two  school-books, 
"  The  Elements  of  English  Grammar,"  and  "  The 
Young  Lady's  Arithmetic."  It  might  be  inter- 
esting to  look  up  that  old  book  and  find  out  why 
it  was  thought  in  those  days  that  a  "  young  lady  " 
needed  a  special  kind  of  arithmetic.  But  Jud- 
son's teaching  days  were  few.  The  restless  ambi- 
tions that  were  seething  within  him  soon  drove 
him  out  into  the  great  world,  and  we  must  go 
with  him. 

He  closed  his  school  in  Plymouth  and  set  out 


l8  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

on  a  tour  through  the  Northern  States.  Before 
he  started  there  was  a  tremendous  scene  between 
the  son  and  father.  Adoniram  lightly  set  forth 
his  change  of  views,  and  openly  declared  his  infi- 
del sentiments.  The  minister  was  amazed.  He 
had  made  unnumbered  sacrifices  gladly  for  the 
son  that  he  loved  deep  down  under  his  stern  ex- 
terior. In  his  visions  of  pride  for  his  success 
there  had  never  been  a  hint  of  anything  like  this. 
But  though  he  was  amazed,  he  was  not  over- 
whelmed, and  he  rose  like  a  lion  to  the  defense 
of  the  faith  that  was  in  him. 

Young  Adoniram  smilingly  lifted  the  shield  of 
his  sparkling  sophistry.  He  knew  he  was  superior 
to  his  father  in  argument,  but  he  had  nothing  to 
oppose  to  his  mother's  tears  and  pleadings,  and 
in  spite  of  himself  they  followed  him  wherever 
he  went. 

He  started  out  with  a  horse  which  his  father 
had  furnished  him.  When,  in  the  course  of  his 
travels,  he  came  to  the  home  of  his  uncle,  Rev. 
Ephraim  Judson,  in  Sheffield,  Connecticut,  he 
heard  that  the  wonder  of  the  world,  the  steamboat 
which  Robert  Fulton  had  invented,  would  soon 
make  a  trip  from  Albany  to  New  York.  He  left 
his  horse  with  his  uncle,  and  hurried  to  Albany  to 


FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AND  BACK  AGAIN  1 9 

see  this  marvel  of  the  new  century,  and  gladly 
took  passage  on  the  "  Clermont  "  for  New  York. 

It  was  long,  long  years  afterward  before  Jud- 
son  told  the  whole  story  of  that  journey  and  its 
sequel,  but  during  his  last  illness  in  Burma  he 
described  to  his  wife,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
youth,  the  impressions  made  upon  his  mind. 
Naturally,  on  such  a  trip  as  that,  the  passengers 
quickly  became  friendly  and  sociable  without 
formal  introductions.  They  talked  about  the 
scenery,  the  wonderful  craft  that  was  carrying 
them  down  the  Hudson. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Judson,  look  at  the  beautiful  reach 
of  the  river  that  we  are  entering!  "  . 

"  Take  my  word  for  it,  Mr.  Johnson,  the 
'  Clermont '  and  her  successors  are  bound  to  revo- 
lutionize transportation  by  water." 

"  Mr.  Judson  " — "  Mr.  Johnson  " ;  sometimes 
he  was  addressed  by  one  name,  sometimes  by  the 
other.  Why  not  let  it  go  at  that,  and  be  "  Mr. 
Johnson  "  until  he  had  "  seen  the  world  "  ? 

So  it  was  Mr.  Johnson  who  left  the  "  Cler- 
mont "  at  New  York,  and  joined  a  band  of  stroll- 
ing players  for  a  time.  He  knew  that  he  was  on 
the  verge  of  such  a  life  as  he  despised.  For  the 
world  he  would  not  see  his  younger  brother  in  his 


20  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

position.  "  But  I,"  he  thought,  "  am  in  no  danger. 
I  am  only  seeing  the  world — the  dark  side  of  it 
as  well  as  the  bright;  and  I  have  too  much  self- 
respect  to  do  anything  mean  or  vicious." 

It  was  a  fellow  prisoner  in  Ava,  an  English  gen- 
tleman, to  whom  Judson  told  the  story  of  this 
episode :  "  We  lived  a  reckless,  vagabond  life,"  he 
said ;  "  finding  lodgings  where  we  could,  running 
up  a  score,  and  decamping  without  paying  the 
reckoning.  Before  leaving  America,  when  the 
enormity  of  this  vicious  course  rested  with  de- 
pressing weight  upon  my  mind,  I  made  a  second 
tour  over  the  same  ground,  carefully  making 
amends  to  all  whom  I  had  injured." 

After  some  time  in  New  York,  he  re- 
turned to  Sheffield  for  his  horse,  intending  to 
pursue  his  sightseeing  journey  westward.  Then 
two  events  took  place  which  changed  the  whole 
course  of  his  life.  One  of  them  seems  slight 
enough.  At  Sheffield  he  met  a  young  minister, 
who  had  taken  his  Uncle  Ephraim's  place.  He 
was  so  sincere,  so  solemnly  but  gently  in  earnest 
that  Judson's  heart  was  touched,  and  he  went 
away  deeply  impressed. 

The  next  night  he  stopped  at  a  country  inn,  and 
the  landlord  apologized  for  having  to  put  him  in 


FROM  JUDSON  TO  JOHNSON  AND  BACK  AGAIN  21 

the  next  room  to  a  young  man  who  lay  very  ill, 
probably  dying. 

"  I  hope  it  will  occasion  you  no  uneasiness, 
sir?" 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Judson,  "  only  that  I  deeply 
pity  the  poor  sufferer." 

But  as  the  night  wore  on  he  heard  sounds  from 
the  sick-chamber,  and  he  could  not  sleep.  The 
young  man  was  dying,  the  innkeeper  said.  Was 
he  prepared?  Oh,  Mr.  Johnson!  He  felt  a 
blush  of  shame  steal  over  him  at  the  question. 
What  would  the  band  of  players  say  to  such 
weakness?  How  the  clear-minded,  intellectual 
Lanceford  would  make  fun  of  him!  Still  the 
question  came  back,  "  Was  he  a  Christian  ?  "  and 
he  could  not  rest  till  the  morning  sunshine  dis- 
pelled his  "  superstitious  illusions." 

"  How  is  the  sick  young  man  ?  "  he  asked  the 
landlord. 

"  He  is  dead." 

"  Dead !    Do  you  know  who  he  was  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  it  was  a  young  man  from  Brown 
University — a  very  fine  fellow;  his  name  was 
Lanceford." 

Judson  was  stunned.  After  hours  had  passed, 
he  knew  not  how,  he  attempted  to  pursue  his 


22  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

journey.  But  all  his  atheism  had  turned  to  ashes. 
He  knew  the  religion  of  the  Bible  to  be  true,  and 
he  was  in  despair.  He  abandoned  his  journey  and 
turned  his  horse's  head  toward  Plymouth. 

The  path  that  led  out  of  that  despair  was  as 
peculiar  as  some  of  Judson's  other  experiences. 
On  October  12,  1808,  he  entered  Andover  Theo- 
logical Seminary  as  a  special  student,  without 
feeling  that  he  was  yet  a  Christian  at  all.  He  had 
to  struggle  still  with  the  brilliant  arguments  that 
once  seemed  so  unanswerable  to  Lanceford  and 
himself.  But  he  laid  hold  of  the  axe  and  hewed 
away  at  the  tree  of  unbelief  and  worldly  ambition 
till  it  fell  flat,  and  on  December  2,  1808,  he  re- 
corded this,  "  Made  a  solemn  dedication  of  my- 
self to  God." 

This  dedication  was  absolute,  complete,  and 
freely  made.  From  that  moment  Adoniram  Jud- 
son  was  God's  man.  All  his  ability,  all  his  ac- 
complishments, all  his  attractive  personality,  were 
held  simply  as  subject  to  the  orders  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Captain  of  his  salvation. 


Ill 

ENLISTING  FOR  LIFE 

THERE  is  a  monument  in  a  green  nook 
among  the  Berkshire  Hills,  at  Williams- 
town,  Massachusetts,  that  has  a  peculiar  carving 
on  one  side  of  it. 

"What  is  it?"  people  sometimes  ask;  "it 
looks — it  looks  like  a  haystack." 

It  is  a  haystack.  A  haystack  isn't  a  very  artis- 
tic object,  but  it  was  carved  on  the  monument 
because  it  was  connected  with  the  strange  doings 
of  some  boys  at  Williams  College. 

Samuel  J.  Mills,  James  Richards,  Luther  Rice, 
and  the  rest  of  them — they  were  all  just  college 
boys.  They  had  the  vitality  of  youth,  they  loved 
the  games  and  pleasures  of  youth;  and  one  of 
them,  big  Luther  Rice,  loved  to  sing  the  songs  of 
youth.  They  had  youthful  ambitions  too,  but 
here  was  the  strange  thing — every  one  of  these 
young  fellows  had  got  it  into  his  head  that  the 
goal  of  his  ambition  ought  to  be  "  The  World  for 
Christ,' :  through  foreign  missions,  an  idea  that 

23 


24  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

was  almost  unheard  of  at  that  time.  So  they  or- 
ganized a  little  missionary  society  in  1806,  and 
used  to  meet  together  at  night  in  a  grove,  to  sing 
and  pray  and  talk;  and  they  all  agreed  that  they 
would  be  missionaries  if  they  could  find  any  possi- 
ble way  to  go.  One  night  in  a  terrific  thunder- 
storm they  were  driven  to  seek  shelter  beside  a 
haystack.  So  the  inscription  on  the  Haystack 
Monument  tells  the  exact  truth  : 

The  Birthplace  of  American  Foreign  Missions. 

Adoniram  Judson  was  not  one  of  the  Williams 
College  young  men,  but  at  Andover  Theological 
Seminary  he  became  connected  with  them,  and 
had  much  to  do  with  their  splendid  achievement. 

The  spark  that  set  Judson  aflame  for  foreign 
missions  was  a  sermon — yes,  actually,  a  sermon 
that  he  read.  It  was  preached  at  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, by  Dr.  Claudius  Buchanan,  chaplain  to  the 
East  India  Company.  The  title  was,  "  The  Star 
in  the  East,"  from  the  words  of  the  Wise  Men, 
"  We  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come 
to  worship  him." 

The  reading  of  this  sermon  produced  a  tremen- 
dous effect  upon  Judson.    "  Why,"  he  said,  "  how 


ENLISTING   FOR   LIFE  25 

stupid,  stupid  I  have  been!  Missions,  why,  the 
New  Testament  is  all  missions !  " 

He  was  so  thrilled  with  the  idea  that  for  sev- 
eral days  he  could  not  attend  to  his  studies.  His 
visions  now  were  all  about  himself  as  a  mission- 
ary; he  saw  himself  on  some  foreign  strand,  pro- 
claiming the  gospel,  while  the  natives  gathered 
around  him  in  crowds,  and  accepted  the  truth  by 
thousands.  And  that  wasn't  all;  he  made  life  a 
burden  to  his  fellow  students  by  going  about  to 
their  rooms  and  declaiming  about  missions  till 
they  would  fain  say  to  him : 

"  Clear  out,  Judson,  and  give  us  a  chance  to 
study." 

You  would  think  that  a  fellow  like  this  would  be 
just  the  one  to  start  out  with  a  big  rush,  and  then 
give  up  when  he  met  hindrances  and  hardships. 
But  this  was  the  wonderful  thing  about  Judson : 
he  was  a  perfect  Niagara  of  energy  and  enthu- 
siasm, and  no  trial  or  suffering  or  defeat  could 
stop  him. 

It  was  some  time  before  he  made  his  final  de- 
cision, and,  as  usual,  it  was  in  a  way  peculiar  to 
himself.  He  was  walking  alone  in  the  woods  be- 
hind the  seminary,  thinking  and  praying  about 
devoting  his  life  to  missions,  and  feeling  half 


26  JUDSON  THE  PIONEER 

inclined  to  give  it  up.  Suddenly  the  words  of 
Jesus  to  his  disciples,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  came 
into  his  mind  with  such  power  that  he  decided 
once  for  all  to  be  a  missionary. 

"  Now  I  must  tell  the  folks  at  home,"  Judson 
kept  saying  to  himself  as  soon  as  the  decision 
was  made.  But  it  wasn't  so  easy  to  do  that. 
Adoniram  Judson,  the  Plymouth  minister,  still 
had  ambitious  views  for  his  son.  He  was  still 
seeing  visions,  and  there  was  not  a  single  one  of 
them  in  which  he  saw  his  talented  boy  preaching 
to  a  company  of  heathen. 

So  it  was  not  until  he  was  at  home,  during  the 
winter  vacation  of  1810,  that  Adoniram  told  his 
plans  to  his  own  people,  and  even  then  he  did  not 
speak  until  he  was  almost  compelled  to  do  so. 
One  evening  his  father  threw  out  some  hints  of 
splendid  prospects  for  the  future,  and  his  mother 
and  Abby  showed  by  their  smiles  and  half-re- 
vealing remarks  that  they  were  in  the  secret. 
Adoniram  became  alarmed. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  *  splendid  prospects,' 
father?"  he  asked;  "tell  me  all  about  it,  please; 
because — perhaps — they  may  not  seem  so  to  me ; 
I  may  have  other  plans " 


THE   PIONEER 


ENLISTING   FOR   LIFE  2>] 

"  Oh,  there  will  be  no  difference  of  opinion 
when  you  know  what  it  is  that  is  offered  to  you," 
said  his  father  confidently.  "  Doctor  Griffin  has 
been  talking  with  me  about  you,  and  he  has  pro- 
posed you  as  his  colleague  in  the  largest  church 
in  Boston." 

"  And  you  will  be  so  near  home,"  added  his 
mother. 

The  son's  heart  seemed  near  bursting,  and  he 
could  not  answer  either  of  them ;  his  real  purpose 
would  be  such  a  bitter  disappointment  to  them. 
But  when  Abby  joined  in  the  conversation,  and 
said  how  fine  it  would  be  for  him  to  live  in 
Boston,  he  turned  to  her  and  replied : 

"No,  sister;  I  shall  never  live  in  Boston.  I 
have  much  farther  than  that  to  go." 

It  was  a  hard  task,  but  steadily  and  earnestly 
he  told  them  what  he  intended  to  do.  His  mother 
and  sister  shed  many  tears  as  they  listened,  but 
his  father  spoke  hardly  a  word.  Who  knows  but 
he  had  a  new  and  nobler  vision  of  greatness  for 
his  son? 

So  when  those  Haystack  young  men  from  Will- 
iams College  came  to  Andover  to  the  seminary, 
there  was  Adoniram  Judson,  like  a  locomotive, 
with  steam  at  high-pressure,  and  leaking  at  the 


2%  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

safety-valve,  ready  to  hitch  on  and  pull  with  them. 
They  met  together  to  talk  and  pray  about  mis- 
sions, and  the  tie  of  brotherhood  that  bound  them 
together  was  this — a  pledge  that  they  would  give 
themselves  to  foreign  missions,  and  that  the  offer- 
ing should  be  for  life. 

But  how,  how  should  they  go?  How  could 
they  put  their  pledge  into  actual  practice?  It  is 
really  amazing  to  see  how  wisely  and  steadily 
they  worked  forward  with  their  scheme.  Re- 
member, there  was  not  at  that  time  a  single  so- 
ciety in  the  United  States  to  which  they  could 
offer  themselves  as  foreign  missionaries.  They 
themselves  were  going  to  be  the  chief  cause  of 
the  organization  of  such  a  society,  but  they  did 
not  know  it — not  yet. 

"  But  see  here,"  they  said  as  they  talked  it 
over,  "  England  is  ahead  of  America  in  this  thing. 
There's  William  Carey,  you  know,  over  at  Seram- 
pore,  and  there  are  missionary  societies  in  Eng- 
land. Let's  write  over  there  and  see  if  they  will 
take  us  as  their  missionaries." 

"  Who  will  write  the  letter?  " 

"  Oh,  Judson,  of  course." 

So  Judson  wrote,  in  April,  1810,  and  inquired 
whether  the  society  would  accept  and  send  out 


ENLISTING   FOR   LIFE  20, 

some  "  young,  unmarried  men,  having  received  a 
liberal  education,  wishing  to  serve  the  Saviour  in 
a  heathen  land,  and  indeed  susceptible  of  a  pas- 
sion for  missions." 

But  these  persevering  students  did  not  rest 
quietly  for  a  reply  to  this  letter.  They  consulted 
their  teachers  and  a  number  of  prominent  minis- 
ters, and  made  so  strong  an  impression  that  the 
professors  and  ministers  met  for  consultation  on 
the  matter  at  the  house  of  Professor  Stuart  in 
Andover,  on  Monday,  June  25,  1810.  These  wise 
and  conservative  men  advised  the  students  to  sub- 
mit their  case  to  the  General  Association,  a  body 
representing  all  the  Congregational  churches,  and 
which  was  to  meet  at  Bradford  the  next  day,  June 
26,  1810. 

Accordingly  the  students  prepared  a  letter,  and 
on  the  second  day  of  the  meeting  they  presented 
it  to  the  General  Association.  The  heart  of  the 
letter  is  this : 

"  The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  state  that  their 
minds  have  been  long  impressed  with  the  duty  and 
importance  of  personally  attempting  a  mission  to 
the  heathen;  that  the  impressions  on  their  minds 
have  induced  a  serious,  and  as  they  trust,  a 
prayerful    consideration    of    the    subject    in    its 


30  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

various  attitudes,  particularly  in  relation  to  the 
probable  success  and  the  difficulties  attending  such 
an  attempt;  and  that,  after  examining  all  the  in- 
formation which  they  can  obtain,  they  consider 
themselves  as  devoted  to  this  work  for  life,  when- 
ever God,  in  his  providence  shall  open  the  way. 
The  undersigned,  feeling  their  youth  and  inexperi- 
ence, look  up  to  their  fathers  in  the  church,  and 
respectfully  solicit  their  advice,  direction,  and 
prayers." 

The  "  undersigned  "  were  Adoniram  Judson, 
Samuel  Nott,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  and  Samuel 
Newell.  The  names  of  Luther  Rice  and  James 
Richards  were  originally  signed  to  this  petition, 
but  had  been  stricken  out  "  for  fear  of  alarming 
the  association  with  too  large  a  number." 

And  to  the  everlasting  praise  of  those  "  Fathers 
of  the  Church,"  be  it  recorded  that  they  recog- 
nized in  this  petition  the  call  of  God  to  rise  to  a 
great  achievement.  The  General  Association, 
when  they  came  to  act  upon  the  petition,  voted: 

That  there  be  instituted  by  this  General 
Association,  a  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  for  the  purpose  of  devis- 
ing WAYS  AND  MEANS,  AND  ADOPTING  AND  PROSE- 
CUTING MEASURES,  FOR  PROMOTING  THE  SPREAD 
OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  HEATHEN  LANDS. 


SWEET,    MERRY   ANN    HASSELTINE 


ENLISTING   FOR   LIFE  3 1 

Yes,  print  it  in  capital  letters,  for  it  was  the 
biggest  thing  that  had  yet  happened  in  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Other  resolutions  provided  for  the  way  in  which 
the  Board  should  be  governed,  and  gave  some 
good  advice  to  the  young  men,  urging  them  to  be 
diligent  in  study,  and  "  humbly  to  wait  the  open- 
ings and  guidance  of  Providence  in  respect  to 
their  great  and  excellent  design." 

That  was  the  origin  of  the  missionary  soci- 
ety now  everywhere  known  as  the  "  American 
Board,"  whose  achievements  have  kept  in  step 
with  the  progress  of  God's  kingdom  through  all 
its  triumphs  of  the  century. 

It  was  just  at  this  historic  moment  that  Adoni- 
ram  Judson  fell  in  love;  right  there,  at  the  asso- 
ciation at  Bradford,  he  lost  his  heart  to  sweet, 
merry,  lovely,  consecrated  Ann  Hasseltine.  When 
the  dinner-hour  came,  Judson  was  one  of  those 
assigned  to  the  hospitable  home  of  John  Hassel- 
tine for  dinner.  His  daughter  Ann  waited  on 
the  table. 

"  I'll  take  a  look,"  she  thought,  "  at  this  young 
Judson,  whose  bold  missionary  projects  are  ma- 
king such  a  stir." 

She  didn't  know  that  Judson  had  already  taken 


32  JUDSON   THE    PIONEER 

a  look  at  her,  and  had  decided  that  she  was  the 
one  girl  for  him. 

"  He  keeps  looking  at  his  plate  all  the  time," 
she  thought,  "  as  if  he  hadn't  the  courage  to  look 
up." 

But  at  that  very  moment  Adoniram,  who  was  a 
bit  of  a  poet  among  other  things,  was  trying  hard 
to  compose  some  verses  graceful  enough  to  apply 
to  Ann  Hasseltine. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  John  Hasseltine  issued 
a  warning  that  none  of  those  students  need  think 
of  taking  his  daughter  to  any  outlandish  country, 
but  Judson  went  straight  ahead,  according  to  his 
custom,  and  the  young  couple  were  soon  engaged. 
They  were  very  much  alike  in  disposition  and  ex- 
perience. Like  Judson,  Ann  had  a  brilliant  mind. 
She  was  full  of  fun,  and  fond  of  society.  "  Where 
Ann  is,  no  one  can  be  gloomy  or  unhappy,"  said 
one  of  her  schoolmates.  She  was  born  in  Brad- 
ford, Massachusetts,  December  22,  1789.  When 
she  was  about  sixteen  she  had  a  deep,  transform- 
ing religious  experience,  and  from  that  moment 
all  her  attractions,  talents,  and  abilities  were  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  God. 

It  was  just  like  Judson  that  when  he  spoke  to 
Ann  of  love,  he  also  spoke  of  the  trials  she  might 


ENLISTING    FOR   LIFE  33 

have  to  bear  as  a  missionary's  wife — never  to  see 
her  people  again,  to  suffer  persecution,  sickness, 
danger,  even  death. 

And  it  was  just  like  Ann  to  say  that  these 
things  made  no  difference  to  her.  She  too  heard 
the  call  of  distant  lands,  and  thus  hand  in  hand 
they  stood,  pledged  to  each  other,  pledged  to  the 
service  of  God,  waiting  only  for  the  door  of  serv- 
ice and  sacrifice  to  open.  They  had  enlisted  for 
life. 


IV 

CAPTURED  BY  A  PRIVATEER 

WE  will  send  Mr.  Judson  to  England,"  was 
the  decision  of  the  Prudential  Committee 
of  the  new  American  Board. 

What  for? 

Because  the  new  Society  felt  its  own  weakness 
and  lack  of  resources,  and  clung  to  the  idea  which 
had  suggested  itself  to  Judson's  mind,  that  the 
American  and  English  churches  should  cooperate 
in  the  support  of  missions.  They  had  prepared  an 
address  to  the  public,  and  had  appealed  for  con- 
tributions, but  they  did  not  know  whether  the 
churches  could  be  depended  upon  to  continue  the 
support  of  the  zealous  young  missionaries,  if 
they  should  be  sent  abroad. 

"  You  will  sail  for  England  in  the  ship 
'  Packet,'  "  these  were  Judson's  instructions,  "  and 
on  her  arrival  at  her  port  of  destination,  you 
will  proceed  to  London  and  deliver  your  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  secretary  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society.  A  principal  object  of  your 
34 


CAPTURED   BY   A   PRIVATEER  35 

attention  will  be  to  ascertain  as  distinctly  as  pos- 
sible, whether  any,  and  what,  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  a  concert  of  measures,  in  relation  to 
missions,  between  the  American  Board  and  the 
London  Missionary  Society." 

Judson  embarked  on  the  "  Packet  "  January  n, 
181 1.  There  was  war  between  France  and  Eng- 
land at  that  time.  The  "  Packet  "  was  an  English 
ship,  and  on  her  way  she  was  captured  by  a 
French  privateer,  "  LTnvincible  Napoleon."  As 
the  result  of  this  capture,  the  young  messenger  had 
some  experiences  that  tried  his  patience  and  en- 
durance, and  brought  out  some  of  the  qualities 
that  were  afterward  put  to  far  more  serious  tests. 

Judson  was  one  of  the  most  fastidious  of  men 
in  regard  to  neatness  and  cleanliness  of  person. 
He  had  a  perfect  horror  of  dirt  or  filth  of  any 
kind.  Immediately  after  the  capture  he  was 
placed  in  the  hold  of  the  ship,  with  the  rough 
sailors.  He  shrank  from  the  associations  of  the 
place,  and  the  confined  air  seemed  unendurable. 
The  weather  roughened,  and  he  became  exceed- 
ingly seasick.  The  doctor  visited  him  every  day, 
but  Judson  could  not  speak  French,  so  the  doctor's 
visits  were  almost  useless. 

These  were  the  first  hardships  that  he  had  ever 


\ 


36  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

endured.  He  was  sick  and  discouraged.  His 
thoughts  went  back  to  his  dear  old  Plymouth 
home,  to  his  beautiful  Ann  at  Bradford,  and  then 
to — "  the  biggest  church  in  Boston."  Instantly 
he  realized  the  feeling  of  regret  that  was  creep- 
ing into  his  heart,  and  instantly  he  had  a  fight 
with  that  temptation,  and  throttled  it.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  God  had  permitted  this  capture  and 
trouble  as  a  trial  of  his  faith,  and  he  resolved  to 
bear  it,  as  he  might  be  called  upon  to  bear  greater 
trials  afterward.  He  fumbled  about  in  the  gray 
twilight  of  his  prison  till  he  found  his  Hebrew 
Bible,  and  amused  himself  with  translating  men- 
tally from  Hebrew  to  Latin. 

One  day  the  doctor  found  the  Hebrew  Bible  on 
Judson's  pillow. 

"  Hullo,"  he  thought,  "  what  sort  of  a  chap  is 
this?  He  can't  talk  French,  but  I'll  give  him  a 
try  in  Latin." 

So  he  spoke  to  Judson  in  Latin,  and  by  the 
use  of  that  language  found  out  who  he  was,  and 
got  him  out  of  the  hold  and  into  the  upper  cabin, 
and  procured  him  a  seat  with  the  ship's  passen- 
gers at  the  captain's  table. 

One  day  there  was  great  excitement  on  board 
"  L'Invincible  Napoleon."     A  big  ship  appeared 


CAPTURED    BY    A    PRIVATEER  2)7 

in  the  distance  and  changed  her  course  to  pursue 
the  privateer.  Judson  felt  like  shouting  for  joy. 
Now  he  would  be  recaptured,  he  thought,  and  sent 
on  to  England.  But  the  privateer  sailed  away 
from  her  pursuer  in  the  night,  and  Judson  and 
the  other  prisoners  were  conveyed  to  Bayonne  in 
France. 

There  he  was  marched  through  the  streets  in 
company  with  the  crew  of  the  "  Packet."  To  say 
that  he  was  mad  clear  through  is  to  state  the  case 
very  mildly.  On  board  the  privateer  he  had 
learned  a  little  French,  and  as  he  marched  along 
he  expressed  his  views  of  the  situation  in  a  man- 
ner that  was  plain  enough  to  be  understood,  but 
in  such  French  that  it  gave  infinite  amusement  to 
the  people  that  lined  the  street.  At  length  Judson 
bethought  himself : 

*'  They  can't  understand  my  French ;  but  if  I  let 
loose  in  English,  perhaps  somebody  will  come 
along  who  will  understand  that."  So  he  began 
to  declaim  in  a  most  violent  manner  something 
like  this: 

"  There  is  nothing  in  this  world  so  inhuman,  so 
despicable,  so  outrageous  as  man's  oppression  of 
his  brother  man !  I  call  down  vengeance  upon  it ! 
I  declare !" 


38  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

"  Taisez  vous!  Shut  up !  "  the  guards  com- 
manded him  with  threatening  gestures. 

"  I  will  not  keep  silence !  "  thundered  Judson ; 
"  and,  furthermore,  I  declare  that  the  oppression 
which  has  seized  upon  me,  an  innocent  passenger, 
a  lover  of  peace,  and  compelled  me  to  walk  as  a 
prisoner  in  the  vile  mud  of  these  streets,  is  the 
most  brutal,  barbarous " 

Suddenly  a  gentleman  stepped  out  of  the 
throng;  walked  along  by  Judson's  side,  and  ad- 
dressed him  quietly  in  English. 

"  If  I  were  you,  I  would  tone  down  that  tre- 
mendous voice  of  yours  a  bit." 

"  With  the  greatest  pleasure,"  Judson  an- 
swered pleasantly,  "  if  I  have  at  last  succeeded  in 
making  myself  heard.  I  was  only  clamoring  for 
a  listener." 

"  You  might  have  got  one  that  you  would  have 
been  glad  to  get  rid  of.  But  who  are  you  in  this 
strange  situation  ?  " 

Judson  explained  as  briefly  as  he  could,  naming 
himself  an  American,  of  course. 

"  Look  here,"  said  this  new  friend,  "  I'm  an 
American  myself  from  Philadelphia,  and  I'm  go- 
ing to  see  you  out  of  this.  But  say,  you  better 
quiet  down  now." 


CAPTURED    BY    A    PRIVATEER  39 

"  Oh,  I'll  be  a  perfect  lamb,"  laughed  Judson, 
"  now  that  I  have  gained  my  object." 

They  put  the  prisoners  into  an  underground 
apartment,  damp,  dark,  and  dismal.  Straw  was 
spread  on  the  ground  about  the  walls.  The  dainty 
Judson  grew  creepy  over  the  idea  that  the  straw 
was  not  fresh,  and  wondered  who  had  last  slept 
in  it. 

Outside,  the  weather  had  been  oppressively  hot, 
but  down  in  the  dark  dungeon  Judson  shivered 
with  the  chilling  dampness,  and  the  confined  air 
and  moldy  smell  made  him  sick  and  giddy.  He 
thought  of  throwing  himself  down  upon  the 
straw — no,  he  couldn't  do  that — there  might  be 
small,  crawling  creatures  in  the  straw  that  he 
couldn't  see.     So  he — took  a  long  walk. 

Up  and  down  the  cell  he  paced,  he  could  not 
tell  how  long,  but  it  seemed  many  hours  to  him. 
Of  course  he  got  to  thinking  again  about  Plym- 
outh, and  Ann,  and  "  the  biggest  church  in 
Boston."  But  the  tempter  hadn't  a  ghost  of  a 
chance  this  time.  "  How  could  I  ever  have  been 
discouraged  ?  "  he  said  to  himself ;  "  why,  this  sort 
of  thing  is  just  what  I  must  expect  if  I'm  going 
to  be  a  missionary.  But  I'm  getting  all  tired  out 
with  this  everlasting  tramp.     If  I  had  a  chair  or 


40  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

stool  to  sit  upon,  that  is  all  I  would  ask.  Let  me 
look  at  that  straw  again.  Maybe  there's  a  spot 
a  little  cleaner  than  the  rest,  where  I  might  lie 
down  if  my  feet  won't  carry  me  any  farther." 

He  leaned  up  against  a  pillar  for  a  moment's 
rest.  "  That  man  from  Philadelphia,"  he  was 
thinking;  "  I  wonder  if  he  will  find  any  way  to 
help  me." 

At  that  moment  the  door  of  the  dungeon 
opened,  and  some  men  entered.  One  of  them  was 
wrapped  in  a  great  military  cloak,  but  Judson 
recognized  him  instantly.  It  was  the  man  who 
had  befriended  him  in  the  street. 

Judson  almost  cried  out  for  joy,  but  the  man 
showed  no  signs  of  recognizing  him,  though  he 
stood  close  by  the  lamp.  So  he  leaned  back 
again  against  the  pillar,  and  tried  to  act  indif- 
ferent. 

The  man  was  talking  in  French  with  the  prison 
guards.     Suddenly  he  said  in  English, 

"  Let  me  see  if  I  know  any  of  these  poor  fel- 
lows." 

He  took  up  the  lamp,  passed  around  the  room, 
looking  at  the  men. 

"  No,"  he  said  carelessly,  as  he  put  down  the 
lamp;  "  no  friend  of  mine  here." 


CAPTURED    BY    A    PRIVATEER  4 1 

At  the  same  moment  he  opened  his  big  cloak 
and  swung  it  around  Judson,  whose  slender  figure 
was  almost  lost  in  its  ample  folds. 

Judson  drew  himself  down  as  small  as  possi- 
ble, to  help  on  the  scheme.  "  But  it  will  never 
succeed,"  he  thought;  "they  will  see  through  it 
at  once." 

But  his  protector  had  still  another  cloak  which 
prevented  the  guards  from  seeing  Judson.  He 
slid  some  money  into  the  jailer's  hands  as  they 
left  the  cell,  and  passed  out  some  more  at  the  gate- 
way of  the  prison. 

Once  in  the  street  of  Bayonne,  the  rescuer 
threw  off  the  cloak,  and  called  out, 

"Now  run!" 

Judson  had  thought  he  was  so  tired  that  he 
could  hardly  take  another  step  as  he  paced  the 
prison  cell,  but  now  he  swiftly  and  easily  followed 
his  tall  conductor  through  the  streets  to  the 
wharf,  and  aboard  an  American  merchant  ship 
that  was  lying  there.  That  answered  as  a  refuge 
for  the  night,  but  the  next  day  he  was  transferred 
to  the  attic  of  a  kindly  ship-builder,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  friend  secured  papers  from  the 
authorities  by  which  he  was  released  on  parole. 

Judson  remained  about  six  weeks  in  Bayonne 


42  JUDSON    THE   PIONEER 

before  he  had  an  opportunity  of  going  on  to  Eng- 
land. He  boarded  with  an  American  woman  who 
had  spent  most  of  her  life  in  France.  He  told  his 
landlady  that  he  was  a  clergyman,  and  had  long 
religious  talks  with  her,  but  he  said  nothing  about 
this  to  the  others  in  the  house.  "  I  want  people 
to  show  themselves  as  they  are,"  he  said,  "  so  that 
I  can  learn  as  much  as  possible  about  the  state  of 
society  in  that  country  where  Lanceford's  bril- 
liant infidelity  came  from." 

He  went  around  quietly  with  the  others  for  a 
while,  occasionally  making  shrewd  remarks  that 
surprised  his  companions.  But  one  night  they 
went  into  a  place  where  a  masked  ball  was  going 
on,  with  all  its  evil  associations.  Judson  simply 
couldn't  keep  his  indignation  and  disgust  to  him- 
self.   That  trumpet  voice  broke  forth  again : 

"  Hell  itself,"  he  shouted,  "  couldn't  furnish 
more  complete  specimens  of  depravity  than  are 
in  this  room !  " 

His  companions  gasped  in  astonishment,  but 
Judson  was  not  to  be  stopped.  Attracted  by 
curiosity,  the  masqueraders  gathered  around  him. 
Some  thought  it  a  part  of  the  show,  and  laughed 
at  his  earnestness  and  gestures.  It  was  evident 
that  a  good  many  understood  him,  though  he 


CAPTURED   BY   A    PRIVATEER  43 

spoke  ill  English,  and  suddenly  changing  his  at- 
titude he  closed  with  a  tender  appeal  to  all  to 
accept  Christ — just  the  sort  of  sermons  that  he 
preached  later  in  Burma.  In  fact,  Judson  always 
regarded  his  capture  by  a  privateer  as  an  im- 
portant and  necessary  part  of  his  preparation  for 
his  work  as  a  missionary. 

Without  further  unusual  experiences  he  reached 
England,  where  he  was  very  cordially  received. 
Everybody  was  surprised  at  his  youthful  appear- 
ance, with  his  rather  slight  figure  and  round,  rosy 
face.  But  it  was  his  voice  that  waked  up  all 
who  heard  it.  In  one  church  in  London  he  read 
a  hymn  during  the  service.  The  clergyman  then 
introduced  him  as  a  young  missionary,  and  added, 
"  If  his  faith  is  proportioned  to  his  voice,  he  will 
drive  the  devil  from  all  India." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  much  about  Judson's 
conference  with  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
Under  certain  conditions  they  agreed  to  receive 
him  and  the  other  students  as  their  missionaries, 
but  they  wisely  decided  that  it  would  not  be 
practicable  for  American  and  English  societies  to 
cooperate  in  their  support.  And  there  was  no  need 
of  any  such  arrangement.  When  Judson  returned 
to  America,  arriving  in  New  York  August  17, 


44  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

1811,  he  found  the  American  Board  growing  in 
strength  and  confidence,  and  ready  to  send  out 
and  support  its  own  missionaries.  On  the  eleventh 
of  September  the  Board  voted  to  appoint  Jud- 
son,  Nott,  Newell,  and  Hall  as  its  missionaries. 
Luther  Rice  was  later  added  to  this  list. 

Adoniram  and  Ann  were  now  busy  with  their 
preparations  for  their  journey.  They  were  very 
happy,  and  at  the  same  time  very  serious.  They 
felt,  rather  than  really  knew,  the  dangers  and  pri- 
vations which  they  were  going  to  meet;  but  Jud- 
son's  trumpet  tones  and  Ann's  merry  laugh  had 
no  note  of  melancholy  in  them,  and  on  the  fifth  of 
February,  1812,  they  were  married. 


V 

A  GREAT  DAY  AND  A  LONG  VOYAGE 

IF  ever  you  visit  Old  Salem,  Massachusetts — 
never  mind  the  witches,  they  won't  trouble 
anybody  again — be  sure  to  look  up  the  reminders 
of  three  important  features  of  American  history. 

First,  see  the  places  associated  with  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne,  the  famous  author  of  "  The  Marble 
Faun,"  "  The  Scarlet  Letter,"  and  other  writings 
that  helped  to  make  solid  the  foundations  of 
American  literature. 

Next,  visit  the  museum  where  the  trophies  of 
the  old  shipping  days  of  Salem  are  shown.  You'll 
have  a  hard  time  to  get  away  from  that  place. 
Bold  and  successful  men  were  the  seamen  of 
Salem,  and  they  brought  from  every  land,  and 
from  the  islands  of  the  sea  strange  weapons  and 
countless  other  articles  that  could  not  be  found 
anywhere  in  the  world  to-day.  And  while  you 
are  looking  at  the  paintings  and  models  of  the 
Salem  ships,  remember  that  it  was  in  such  a  ship 
that  Judson  and  his  young  bride  sailed  away  to 

45 


46  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

India.  Then  you  will  be  ready  to  do  the  third 
thing: 

Go  to  the  Tabernacle  Congregational  Church 
and  take  a  look  at  the  "  Deacons'  Seat,"  or  set- 
tee, where  those  five  young  men — Judson,  Hall, 
Newell,  Nott,  and  Rice  sat  during  the  services  of 
their  ordination,  February  6,  1812. 

Try  to  reproduce  the  scene  in  imagination  as 
you  stand  there,  because  it  was  an  occasion  that 
thrilled  the  heart  of  every  one  who  took  part  in 
it.  Men  there  dared  to  step  out  into  the  great 
things  that  God  had  called  them  to  do. 

There  was  the  American  Board.  They  had 
only  five  hundred  dollars  in  the  treasury,  with 
one  thousand,  two  hundred  dollars  in  sight.  But 
they  believed  that  money  would  be  forthcoming, 
and  they  solemnly  and  joyfully  proceeded  to  or- 
dain five  young  men  and  send  them  forth  as  mis- 
sionaries. And  they  had  to  do  it  at  once.  The 
Salem  Gazette  for  January  31,  1812,  contains  an 
announcement  of  the  services,  when  the  five  young 
men  are  to  be  "  set  apart  by  solemn  ordina- 
tion as  Christian  missionaries  to  carry  the  Gos- 
pel of  Salvation  to  the  Heathen.  The  public  ex- 
ercises are  to  be  holden  at  the  Tabernacle  in  this 
town,  and  to  commence  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M. 


A    GREAT    DAY    AND    A    LONG    VOYAGE  47 

A  collection  will  be  made  on  the  occasion  for 
the  mission,  which,  to  embrace  a  very  unexpected 
opportunity  for  conveyance  to  India,  is  now  fitting- 
out  with  all  possible  despatch." 

The  confidence  of  the  leaders  in  the  support  of 
the  people  was  well-sustained.  The  atmosphere 
had  become  electric.  The  people  of  the  churches 
had  begun  to  be  moved  by  an  unseen  power.  A 
great  crowd  came  together  at  Salem.  The  Taber- 
nacle was  packed.  Throngs  were  peering  down 
from  the  galleries.  The  aisles  could  be  traced 
only  by  the  ridges  or  seams  made  by  people  stand- 
ing. Ministers  and  their  parishioners  had  flocked 
in  from  all  the  surrounding  country.  Students 
from  Phillips  Academy,  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, and  citizens  of  Anclover  had  walked  to 
Salem,  sixteen  miles. 

The  services  began  at  eleven  and  continued  until 
three,  and  the  students  and  others,  "  without  re- 
freshment," attempted  to  return  on  foot  to  Ando- 
ver.  Among  them  was  William  Goodell,  the 
hero  of  "  Forty  Years  in  the  Turkish  Empire." 
The  day  was  exceedingly  cold,  and  after  the  sun 
went  down  Goodell  became  exhausted  and  would 
have  perished,  but  the  students  placed  him  be- 
tween two  of  them,  and  bearing  his  whole  weight 


48  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

upon  them,  by  taking  turns,  succeeded  in  carrying 
him  along  till  Andover  was  reached,  when  a  bed 
was  spread  for  him  upon  the  floor  before  the 
fire.  But  he  felt  amply  repaid  by  the  undying 
spirit  of  missions  with  which  the  scene  filled  him, 
and  he  wrote  of  the  occasion  afterward  in  a  way 
that  helps  us  to  get  an  inspiring  vision  of  its 
wonderful  power.  "  In  that  great  assembly  there 
was  a  stillness  like  the  stillness  of  God  when  he 
ariseth  in  silence  to  bless  the  world."  At  times 
the  whole  great  assembly  seemed  moved  as  the 
trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  by  a  mighty  wind. 
An  irrepressible  sighing  and  weeping  rose  at 
times  over  the  silence  of  the  House  of  Prayer. 

One  thing  that  made  a  deep  impression  was  the 
appearance  of  the  young  men  themselves.  They 
were  noble  in  bodily  vigor,  and  splendid  with  the 
light  of  a  magnificent  purpose  that  shone  in  their 
faces.  The  people  who  beheld  them  felt  the  hero- 
ism of  their  consecration  and  cheerful  facing  of 
unknown  dangers.  "  They  were  going  at  the 
Master's  command,  and  we  who  remain  must  sup- 
port them,"  was  the  feeling  that  ran  from  heart 
to  heart,  and  from  that  very  day  the  money  for 
the  support  of  missions  began  to  pour  in.  During 
the  very  ordination  ceremonies,  it  is  related,  the 


A   GREAT   DAY    AND    A   LONG   VOYAGE  49 

door  of  the  Tabernacle  was  opened  by  an  un- 
known hand,  and  fifty  dollars  in  coin  were  thrown 
in,  marked  "  For  Mr.  Judson's  personal  use." 

There  were  no  photographs  in  those  days,  but 
there  is  a  fine  old  engraving  that  reproduces  in 
a  remarkable  way  the  spirit  of  the  ordination 
scene.  It  represents  the  moment  when  the  young 
men  kneel,  and  five  prominent  ministers  of  New 
England  lay  their  hands  in  consecration  upon  the 
heads  of  the  five  young  missionaries.  They  were, 
from  left  to  right,  Morse,  father  of  the  inventor 
of  the  telegraph;  Griffin,  Spring,  Wood,  and 
Worcester.  At  that  moment  the  solemn  grandeur 
of  the  day  rof„  to  a  climax  that  thrilled  every 
heart,  and  among  those  who  witnessed  it  and  felt 
it  all  most  deeply  were  two — young  girls  they 
would  be  called  to-day,  Ann  Hasseltine  Judson, 
the  bride  of  a  day,  and  Harriet  Atwood,  eighteen 
years  old,  who,  three  days  later,  was  to  become 
the  bride  of  Samuel  Newell. 

But  this  scene  of  high  spiritual  exaltation  must 
come  to  an  end,  and  the  last  details  of  prepara- 
tion must  be  swiftly  attended  to.  The  "  unex- 
pected opportunity  for  conveyance  to  India," 
which  hastened  the  time  of  ordination  at  Salem, 
was  the  brig  "  Caravan,"  Captain  Heard,  which 

D 


50  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

was  almost  ready  to  sail.  Those  next  six  days 
were  rilled  with  activities,  and  there  was  the 
wedding  of  Samuel  Newell  and  Harriet  Atwood, 
and  the  bidding  farewell  to  dear  friends.  And 
remember,  to  them  it  was  realized  and  expected 
to  be  a  farewell  for  life.  In  these  days  of  swift 
travel,  arrangements  are  made  for  all  mission- 
aries to  have  a  furlough  after  a  term  of  service, 
whose  length  depends  somewhat  on  the  field 
where  they  work.  But  in  these  first  years  such  a 
thing  was  not  thought  of.  Those  who  went  forth 
said  good-bye  as  friends  who  part  forever. 

The  "  Caravan,"  unlike  modern  steamships, 
could  not  sail  on  schedule  time,  regardless  of 
wind  or  weather.  Captain  Heard  had  to  wait 
several  days  for  a  fair  wind.  On  the  eighteenth 
of  February  the  change  came,  and  the  captain 
sent  a  hurry  message  to  the  missionaries  to  come 
on  board.  The  ship  remained  at  anchor  during 
the  night,  but  on  the  morning  of  the  "  nineteenth 
of  February,  1812,"  as  an  early  writer  described 
it,  "  there  might  have  been  seen  passing  out  of 
the  harbor  of  Salem  a  vessel  bound  for  the  sunny 
climes  of  India,  with  the  richest  boon  that  Amer- 
ica had  ever  presented  to  that  benighted  land. 
Often  had  her  Stars  and  Stripes  waved  at  the 


A    GREAT   DAY   AND   A   LONG    VOYAGE  5 1 

masthead  of  her  richly  freighted  ships,  laden 
with  the  wealth  of  the  Eastern  and  Western 
worlds ;  but  on  board  that  brig,  now  scudding  be- 
fore the  wind,  with  colors  flying  and  sails  all  set, 
is  a  treasure  far  more  valuable  than  the  richest 
merchandise  of  America,  the  spices  and  the  gold 
of  India,  or  the  silk  and  teas  of  China — the  first 
Company  of  American  Missionaries  to  the  be- 
nighted Idolaters  of  the  East." 

Now  what  do  you  think  of  Adoniram  and  Ann 
jumping  rope  on  board  the  "  Caravan  "  ?  It  was 
a  long,  long  voyage,  with  no  exciting  adventures ; 
and  yet  it  becomes  intensely  interesting  because 
of  the  deep  soul  experiences  and  the  lighter, 
brighter  side  of  life,  revealed  in  the  diary  and 
some  of  the  letters  of  Ann  Judson  written  during 
the  voyage ;  and  another  fact  makes  it  one  of 
the  most  memorable  voyages  of  all  history. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  Ann's  diary.  Many  peo- 
ple kept  a  diary  in  those  days,  and  "  wrote  their 
feelings  "  in  them  in  a  way  that  seems  somewhat 
insincere  to  us  as  we  read  them  now,  when  the 
fashion  is  to  suppress  and  conceal  the  deeper  feel- 
ings of  the  heart;  but  we  may  be  sure  that  Ann 
was  sincere  when  she  wrote  on  February  eight- 
eenth :  "  Took  leave  of  my  friends  and  native  land 


52  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

and  embarked  on  board  the  brig  '  Caravan  '  for 
India.  Had  so  long  anticipated  the  trying  scene 
of  parting  that, I  found  it  more  tolerable  than  I 
had  feared.  Still  my  heart  bleeds.  O  America, 
my  native  land,  must  I  leave  thee  ?  Must  I  leave 
my  parents,  my  sisters  and  brother,  my  friends 
beloved,  and  all  the  scenes  of  my  early  youth? 
Must  I  leave  thee,  Bradford,  my  dear  native 
town,  where  I  spent  the  years  of  my  childhood? 
Yes,  I  must  leave  you  all,  for  a  heathen  land,  an 
uncongenial  clime.  Farewell,  happy  scenes — but 
never,  no,  never  to  be  forgotten." 

Then,  of  course,  the  next  entry  is,  "  Seasick  all 
day  " ;  and  in  a  letter  written  when  they  were 
getting  down  near  to  the  equator  she  said :  "  The 
change  of  the  weather,  together  with  seasickness 
and  the  want  of  exercise,  soon  caused  me  to  lose 
all  relish  for  food.  But  I  soon  began  to  find  that 
the  real  reason  for  my  ill  health  was  the  want  of 
exercise.  For  some  time  we  could  invent  nothing 
which  could  give  us  exercise  equal  to  what  we 
were  accustomed  to.  Jumping  the  rope  was 
finally  invented,  and  this  we  found  to  be  of  great 
use.  I  began  and  jumped  it  several  times  in  the 
day,  and  found  my  health  gradually  returning, 
until  I  was  perfectly  well."     A  little  touch  like 


A   GREAT   DAY   AND   A   LONG   VOYAGE  53 

this  helps  us  to  see  that  these  early  missionaries 
were  not  creatures  apart  from  the  ordinary  life 
of  humanity,  but  just  like  other  folks — only  with 
all  their  hopes  and  powers  and  purposes  devoted 
to  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  rescue  of  men. 

Now,  about  the  other  thing  that  happened — 
Judson  became  a  Baptist !  Almost  the  first  thing 
that  comes  into  our  mind  is,  that  if  the  brig 
"  Caravan  "  had  been  a  modern  steamship  "  Cara- 
van "  this  would  not  have  been  so  likely  to  hap- 
pen. But  the  voyage  was  long,  and  Judson  was 
always  trying  to  prepare  himself  for  what  he  was 
going  to  meet.  He  expected  to  meet  the  Baptist 
missionaries  at  Serampore,  Carey  and  Marshman, 
and  perhaps  to  start  his  mission  work  somewhere 
near  them. 

"  I  must  look  into  this  matter,"  he  would  say 
to  Ann  as  she  shows  us  in  some  of  her  letters, 
"  and  be  ready  to  maintain  my  position  when  I 
meet  these  Baptist  brethren." 

"  Oh,  don't  trouble  yourself  about  that,"  Ann 
would  reply;  "  it  will  be  all  right." 

But  it  was  Judson's  way  to  take  trouble,  and 
he  soon  began  to  say :  "  Ann,  I'm  not  sure  but 
those  Baptists  are  right  in  regard  to  baptism,  and 
we  are  wrong." 


54  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

"  Well,"  laughed  Ann,  "  you  may  become  a 
Baptist,  but  I  won't." 

So  through  the  long  voyage  this  matter  was 
often  discussed  by  them,  and  eventually  they  both 
decided  to  become  Baptists.  That  is  what  makes 
the  voyage  so  memorable.  Not  because  two  per- 
sons changed  from  one  denomination  to  another; 
that  has  happened  many  times;  but  because  the 
Judsons — and  Luther  Rice  in  just  the  same  way 
on  another  ship — became  Baptists  just  at  that 
time.  Why  this  was  so  we  shall  see  in  another 
chapter. 

Down  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  they 
went — rough,  rainy  weather,  and  Ann  writes 
about  "  the  dangers  of  the  deep."  Then  up,  up, 
till  they  cross  the  equator  again,  and  anchor  in 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  below  Calcutta.  As  the  ship 
is  being  piloted  up  the  Hooghly,  Ann  writes  of 
the  green  fields  of  grass  and  rice,  and  adds :  "  I 
suppose  the  natives  that  live  on  these  shores,  for 
many  miles,  have  never  seen  a  missionary.  I 
should  be  happy  to  come  and  live  among  them,  in 
one  of  their  little  houses."  But  she  had  "  farther 
than  that  to  go." 

The  Judsons  and  Newells  arrived  at  Calcutta 
on  the  seventeenth  of  June.     They  were  met  by 


WHERE   THE   PIONEER   AND    HIS    WIFE    WERE   BAPTIZED 


"VWV'"'V«5|kwV-»~"*'r.'"»'   — a|w,w.<aki>>wtWkWJ 


THE 

D-.  JODSON  Was  barn,  in.  Baldar,  *b»-j*k.aj«1ts.  »•  A^,ji  irt«. 
a)«j  educated  ii)  groWa,  OniVeryto.  lad  AadeVar  Seajinarij.  «^d  i  ailed  for  ladai 
under  tl|*  auspices  «f  the  American  fear*  af  Cotnrnissiot,' ~s  far  raraiaa, 
*'SS""tS  On  <he  (ojjage  he  and  In}  «ife.  AMI  HASSEIT1NE,  embraced  Baptist 
VleWs  and  Wee  baplued  in  1k.ij  Cb,arcb,  »»  September  Ibtt,  bjj  IV  RH.W!LLIA» 
WARD,  S*ratnpor**.  This  incident  called  into  existence,  in  1814,  the  American 
Baphst  Missionary  U^ion  v»>ilh  Dr  Jude*n  AS  '*5  l'rS*  Missionary.  In  *h*  provi- 
dence af  Cad  he  Was  then  fed  to  Barn)al).  Which  countnj  alas  Massed  With.  Ihirtji- 
t ijnt yars  of  heroic  endeavour  in  Ibe  caa$e  af  CWttST.  He  e«d  al  jei  II*  April  USe 

Thb  tablet  erected  bu  one  af  ku  caonlraaien  «*e  reuered  hi*  moeMra,  too*  uiwe.lrd 
by  tt*  CoMut-teaerel  for  ttw  baited  Stole*  af  America  i«»  Fekraara  IH1 


TN    MEMORY   OF   THE   PIONEER 


A   GREAT    DAY    AND    A   LONG   VOYAGE  55 

Doctor  Carey  and  given  a  hearty  welcome.  He 
invited  them  to  come  to  the  missionary  settlement 
at  Serampore,  and  wait  for  the  missionaries  who 
had  sailed  from  Philadelphia,  and  who  did  not 
arrive  till  the  eighth  of  August. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  quiet,  friendly  spot  at  Ser- 
ampore, and  there  the  Judsons  and  Luther  Rice 
made  their  final  decisions  to  be  Baptists.  The 
Judsons  were  baptized  in  Calcutta  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ward,  September  6,  1812,  and  Rice  a  few 
weeks  later.  The  very  church  in  which  this  took 
place  is  still  in  use,  and  Mr.  John  Wanamaker,  of 
Philadelphia,  on  a  trip  to  the  far  East,  a  few 
years  ago,  caused  a  tablet  to  be  placed  in  it  in 
memory  of  the  Judsons  and  Rice. 

Judson  at  once  wrote  to  the  American  Board 
of  the  change.  It  was  another  farewell  forever, 
as  it  seemed  to  them.  They  feared  their  friends 
might  misunderstand  their  motives;  and  they 
knew,  of  course,  that  they  could  no  longer  have 
the  support  of  the  American  Board.  But  there 
was  no  thought  of  turning  backward.  Only  a 
deeper,  stronger,  more  resolute  determination  to 

GO  FORWARD. 


VI 

THE  TROUBLE  BEGINS 

THE  fabled  Magic  Carpet  is  what  we  need 
for  this  chapter  and  the  next,  so  that  we 
could  be  lifted  high  above  the  earth  and  see 
how  wonderfully  events  were  working  at  the  same 
time  in  India  and  America. 

We  cannot  do  that,  so  we  will  stay  in  India 
with  the  Judsons  and  see  what  courage  and  reso- 
lution it  took  for  them  to  find  a  place  to  begin 
their  work. 

"  We  have  no  use  for  you  over  here." 
That  was  the  reception  the  new  missionaries 
got  from  the  East  India  Company,  which  was  the 
real  civil  authority  at  Calcutta.  "  Missions  will 
interfere  with  trade."  "  If  these  fanatics  try  to 
change  the  religion  of  India,  it  will  bring  on  a 
terrible  race  war,"  declared  the  officials.  They 
didn't  give  the  missionaries  credit  for  a  single 
grain  of  common  sense.  "  Every  missionary  will 
have  to  be  backed  by  a  gunboat,"  declared  a 
speaker  in  the  English  House  of  Lords. 
56 


THE    TROUBLE    BEGINS  57 

The  missionaries  had  not  been  in  India  more 
than  ten  days  before  Judson  and  Newell  were 
summoned  to  Calcutta,  and  an  order  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  read  to  them,  requiring  them  to 
leave  the  country  and  return  to  America.  They 
asked  leave  to  settle  in  some  other  part  of  India, 
but  this  was  refused.  They  then  asked  if  they 
could  go  to  the  Isle  of  France.  This  island,  now 
known  as  Mauritius,  is  in  the  Indian  Ocean, 
about  four  hundred  and  eighty  miles  east  of 
Madagascar,  and  it  was  one  of  the  places  which 
the  missionaries  had  previously  talked  about  for 
the  beginning  of  their  work. 

Their  request  to  go  to  Mauritius  was  granted. 
But  the  only  ship  sailing  from  Calcutta  could 
take  but  two  passengers.  It  was  agreed  that  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Newell  should  be  the  ones  to  go,  and 
they  embarked  at  once. 

About  two  months  later,  in  November,  1812, 
the  Judsons  and  Luther  Rice  were  again  sternly 
ordered  to  appear  at  the  Government  House  in 
Calcutta. 

"  You  start  yourselves  for  America  at  once  " ; 
this  was  the  substance  of  what  was  said  to  them 
in  no  very  polite  terms.  Furthermore,  they  were 
told  that  they  must  start  in  one  of  the  Honorable 


58  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Company's  vessels,  bound  for  England.  "  We 
saw  our  names  inserted  in  papers  as  passengers 
on  a  certain  ship,"  wrote  Mrs.  Judson,  "  and  now 
there  appeared  very  little  hope  of  escape." 

Judson  and  Rice  were  practically  made  prison- 
ers. An  officer  of  the  Company  went  home  with 
them,  and  requested  them  not  to  leave  it  without 
permission.  But  this  treatment  only  served  as  a 
signal  to  the  missionaries  to  make  things  give  way. 
They  found  that  a  ship,  the  "  Creole,"  would 
soon  sail  for  Mauritius.  "  We  will  find  some  way 
to  join  the  Newells  there,"  they  declared. 

First,  they  applied  to  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  Company  for  a  pass  to  sail  on  this  ship.  He 
refused  to  give  it.  Then  they  went  to  the  cap- 
tain of  the  ship  and  told  their  story.  "  Now," 
they  asked,  "  will  you  take  us  without  a  pass?  " 

The  captain  did  not  make  any  direct  answer; 
he  smiled  good-naturedly  and  said, 

"  There's  my  ship ;  you  can  do  as  you  please 
about  going  aboard." 

They  needed  no  further  permission.  They  were 
"  pleased  "  to  make  all  haste  to  embark  on  the 
"  Creole."  With  the  help  of  friends  they  got 
some  coolies  to  carry  their  baggage,  and  at  mid- 
night they  went  down  to  the  river.  The  dockyards 


THE    TROUBLE    BEGINS  59 

were  closed.  It  was  quite  contrary  to  the  regula- 
tions of  the  Company  to  open  them.  But  some 
unknown  friend  did  open  them,  and  the  wander- 
ers passed  on  board. 

The  next  morning  the  ship  sailed,  passing  down 
the  Hooghly  River  toward  the  Bay  of  Bengal. 
Out  of  the  clutches  of  the  Company  at  last !  Into 
the  free  spaces  of  the  deep ! 

Oh,  no.  The  "  Creole  "  had  proceeded  down 
the  river  for  only  two  days  when  she  was  over- 
taken by  a  despatch  from  the  government,  for- 
bidding the  pilot  to  go  any  farther,  as  there 
were  passengers  on  board  who  had  been  ordered 
to  England. 

"  Then  there  will  be  officers  after  us,"  decided 
the  Americans,  "  and  if  we  stay  on  board  we 
shall  all  be  carried  back  to  Calcutta." 

"  Yes,"  agreed  the  kind  captain ;  "  but  Mrs. 
Judson  needn't  go.  She  will  be  perfectly  safe 
even  if  an  officer  is  sent  to  search  the  '  Creole.'  " 

So  Judson  and  Rice  took  a  boat  and  went 
ashore  to  a  tavern  about  a  mile  from  the  ship. 
The  next  day  the  captain  received  a  note  from  the 
owner  of  the  vessel.  "  I  have  been  to  the  police," 
he  said,  "  and  they  told  me  that  my  ship  was 
detained   because   it   was   suspected   there    were 


60  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

persons  on  board  whom  the  captain  had  been 
forbidden  to  receive.     Is  this  true?  " 

Of  course  this  tangled  things  up  worse  than 
ever.  The  pilot  immediately  wrote  a  certificate 
that  there  were  "  no  such  persons  on  board,"  and 
Mrs.  Judson  had  to  go  ashore  to  make  the  certifi- 
cate true.  Mr.  Rice  went  back  to  Calcutta  to  try 
again  to  get  a  pass  to  proceed  on  the  "  Creole," 
but  he  only  succeeded  in  finding  out  that  the 
owner  of  the  vessel  was  highly  offended — mad  as 
a  hatter,  in  plain  American — because  his  ship  was 
detained  so  long  on  their  account. 

The  next  morning  the  hop,  skip,  and  jump 
journey  began  again.  The  captain  sent  word  that 
he  had  permission  to  go  on,  but  he  couldn't  take 
them;  they  must  come  and  get  their  baggage. 
They  thought  it  wasn't  safe  to  remain  at  that 
tavern  any  longer,  and  to  return  to  Calcutta  was 
like  putting  their  heads  in  the  lion's  mouth.  They 
decided  to  go  down  the  Hooghly  about  sixteen 
miles  farther,  to  a  place  where  there  was  another 
tavern.  Ann  Judson  went  on  board  to  see  about 
the  baggage,  and  the  captain  said  she  might  stay 
in  the  ship  till  they  got  down  near  the  tavern. 
She  had  to  go  ashore  to  tell  the  men  about  this, 
and  she  was  rowed  back  to  the  ship  in  a  little  boat 


THE    TROUBLE    BEGINS  6l 

manned  by  six  natives,  and  the  river  was  very 
rough  from  a  high  wind.  "  I  manifested  some 
fear  to  them,"  said  Mrs.  Judson  in  telling  these 
experiences,  "  and  they  would  constantly  repeat, 
'  Cutcha  pho  annah  sahib'  meaning,  '  Never  fear, 
madam,  never  fear.'  " 

Mrs.  Judson  was  put  ashore  at  the  tavern  some 
time  before  Mr.  Judson  arrived.  She  was  alone, 
with  only  a  few  rupees  in  her  pocket,  not  know- 
ing whether  she  would  get  her  property  from  the 
ship  or  when  her  husband  would  come.  Like  any 
other  young  wanderer,  she  thought  of  home,  and 
said  to  herself :  "  These  are  some  of  the  trials 
attendant  on  a  missionary  life,  and  which  I  have 
anticipated." 

"  Which  I  have  anticipated."  That  was  always 
the  Judson  attitude.  Somewhat  like  Paul :  "  Not 
knowing  what  shall  befall  me,  save  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that  bonds 
and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none  of  these  things 
move  me." 

Mr.  Judson  soon  arrived,  and  they  began  once 
more  to  make  efforts  to  escape  on  another  ship, 
which  the  landlord  said  would  be  along  in  a  day 
or  two.  But  the  captain  of  this  ship  utterly  re- 
fused to  take  them. 


62  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

They  were  just  sitting  down  to  supper,  three 
days  after  arriving  at  this  tavern,  when  a  letter 
was  handed  to  them.  They  hastily  opened  it, 
and  to  their  great  surprise  and  joy  they  found  in 
it  a  pass  to  go  aboard  the  "  Creole,"  the  very  ship 
they  had  left.  Who  procured  the  pass  for  them 
they  never  knew.  "  We  could  only  view  the 
hand  of  God  and  wonder,"  Ann  wrote  in  one  of 
her  letters  to  her  father  and  mother;  and  then 
she  goes  on  with  the  story : 

"  But  we  had  every  reason  to  expect  the 
'  Creole  '  had  got  out  to  sea,  as  it  was  three  days 
since  we  left  her.  There  was  a  possibility,  how- 
ever, of  her  having  anchored  at  Saugur,  seventy 
miles  from  where  we  then  were.  We  had  let  our 
baggage  continue  in  the  boat  into  which  it  was  first 
taken,  therefore  it  was  all  in  readiness;  and  after 
dark  we  all  three  got  into  the  same  boat,  and  set 
out  against  the  tide  for  Saugur.  It  was  a  most 
dreary  night  for  me,  but  Mr.  Judson  slept  the 
greater  part  of  the  night.  The  next  day  we  had  a 
favorable  wind  and,  before  night,  reached  Saugur, 
where  were  many  ships  at  anchor,  and  among  the 
rest  we  had  the  happiness  to  find  the  '  Creole.' 
She  had  been  anchored  there  two  days,  waiting 
for  some  of  the  ship's  crew.  I  never  enjoyed  a 
sweeter  moment  in  my  life  than  when  I  was  sure 
we  were  in  sight  of  the  *  Creole.'  " 


THE    TROUBLE    BEGINS  63 

Sailing  away  for  Mauritius  at  last !  Surely, 
now,  they  thought,  they  would  be  nearer  the  scene 
of  their  labors.  The  Isle  of  France,  it  was  then, 
and  the  French  language  was  spoken  there,  so 
they  spent  much  of  their  time  during  the  more 
than  six  weeks  of  their  voyage  in  studying  French. 
"  I  find  nothing  difficult  about  it,"  writes  Ann, 
and  a  few  years  later  she  was  able  to  speak 
fluently  in  a  language  much  more  difficult  than 
French. 

They  arrived  at  Port  Louis,  on  the  Isle  of 
France,  January  17,  181 3.  The  first  moment  of 
their  arrival  was  dark  with  sorrow.  "  Oh,  what 
news,  what  distressing  news!  Harriet  is  dead. 
Harriet,  my  dear  friend ;  my  earliest  associate  in 
the  mission,  is  no  more."  Poor,  lonely  Ann;  who 
can  blame  her  for  being  so  distressed  by  this  loss ! 
Indeed,  the  whole  company  was  desolate  over  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Newell,  and  Mr.  Newell  soon  left 
Mauritius  for  Ceylon. 

But  Mauritius,  no  more  than  Calcutta,  was  to 
be  the  abiding-place  of  the  wandering  mission- 
aries. "  We  have  sometimes  thought  of  staying 
on  this  island,"  wrote  Ann,  "  as  missionaries  are 
really  needed  here,  but  we  cannot  feel  justified  in 
staying  here,  although  Mr.  Judson  and  Brother 


64  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Rice  have  preached  every  Sabbath  to  the  English 
soldiers.  We  long  to  get  to  the  place  where  we 
shall  spend  the  remainder  of  our  lives  in  instruct- 
ing the  heathen.  I  want  one  of  you  with  me  very 
much,  as  I  am  entirely  alone."  This  was  in  a 
letter  to  her  sisters,  and  that  terrible  "  aloneness  " 
comes  out  most  pathetically  in  an  entry  in  her 
diary :  "  No  prospect  of  remaining  long  on  this 
island.  It  seems  as  if  there  was  no  resting-place 
for  me  on  earth.  Oh,  when  will  my  wanderings 
terminate  ?  When  shall  I  find  some  little  spot  that 
I  can  call  home  while  on  this  earth  ?  " 

All  this  time  Judson  and  Rice  were  wrestling 
with  the  problem  of  their  relations  with  the  Chris- 
tian people  of  America.  Would  the  Baptists  re- 
ceive them  and  appoint  them  as  Baptist  mission- 
aries ?  They  didn't  know.  They  had  written  and 
explained  the  situation  fully,  both  to  the  American 
Board  and  to  a  few  leading  Baptists,  and  there 
they  had  to  drop  the  subject.  There  was  no  cable 
nor  "  wireless  "  to  tell  them  what  great  things 
were  going  on  in  America,  at  the  very  time  when 
their  prospects  seemed  the  darkest.  But  after 
much  discussion  and  prayer  they  decided  that  the 
best  course  to  take  would  be  for  Luther  Rice  to 
return  to  the  United  States,  meet  the  Baptists 


THE    TROUBLE    BEGINS  65 

face  to  face,  and  endeavor  to  awaken  such  interest 
that  they  would  support  their  mission  in  the  far 
East,  and  he  sailed  from  Mauritius  for  this  pur- 
pose on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1813.  Hold  fast 
to  the  dates  in  this  chapter.  Many  of  them  be- 
come very  full  of  interest  when  compared  with  the 
events  in  the  chapter  following. 

Now  the  zigzag  line  that  marks  the  wanderings 
of  the  Judsons  takes  a  sharp  turn  northward. 
They  remained  in  Mauritius  about  four  months. 
After  long  deliberation  they  decided  that  they 
would  try  to  found  their  mission  on  the  island  of 
Pulo  Penang,  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca.  It  was 
a  small  island,  lately  purchased  by  the  English ;  its 
small  native  population  of  Malays  was  rapidly 
being  increased  by  immigration  from  other  islands 
and  countries. 

As  the  first  step  toward  carrying  out  this  pur- 
pose, they  sailed  from  Mauritius  on  May  7,  181 3, 
and  arrived  at  Madras  on  June  fourth.  They 
were  kindly  received  by  the  English  missionaries 
there,  but  now  they  were  in  the  domain  of  the 
East  India  Company  again.  Their  arrival  was 
at  once  reported  to  the  governor-general,  and 
they  knew  they  would  soon  be  ordered  to  leave. 
The  only  ship  going  in  the  direction  they  desired 

E 


66  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

was  bound  for  Rangoon,  Burma.  In  the  first 
days  of  his  missionary  enthusiasm  Judson  had 
thought  of  Burma;  the  Board  had  suggested 
Burma,  but  it  had  been  given  up  as  impossible. 
Here  is  the  way  Judson  stated  it :  "A  mission  to 
Rangoon  we  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  with 
feelings  of  horror.  But  it  was  now  brought  to  a 
point.  We  must  either  venture  there  or  be  sent 
to  Europe.    All  other  paths  were  shut  up." 

Friends  tried  to  hold  them  back,  but  they  were 
resolved  to  go  forward.  June  22,  181 3,  they 
embarked  on  the  "  Georgiana "  for  Rangoon. 
It  was  a  "  crazy  old  vessel,"  as  Judson  described 
it ;  the  captain  was  the  only  person  on  board  who 
could  speak  English,  and  they  had  no  other  apart- 
ment than  what  was  made  by  canvas.  The  pas- 
sage was  very  rough,  and  it  made  Mrs.  Judson  so 
ill  that  her  husband  despaired  of  her  life.  They 
were  in  danger  of  shipwreck,  and  were  driven 
between  the  Little  and  Great  Andaman  Islands, 
where  savage  cannibals  dwelt.  But  here  the  sea 
was  calm,  which  probably  saved  Mrs.  Judson's 
life. 

On  July  13,  1813,  they  reached  Rangoon.  Mrs. 
Judson  was  so  weak  that  she  had  to  be  carried 
ashore  in  an  armchair,  and  even  then  she  was 


THE   TROUBLE   BEGINS  6j 

searched  by  a  native  woman  at  the  custom-house. 
A  home  of  some  sort  was  waiting  for  them,  a 
house  belonging-  to  a  son  of  William  Carey.  Their 
long  journey  was  ended;  they  were  face  to  face 
with  Burma. 


VII 

A  LETTER  THAT  SOUNDED  THE  REVEILLE 

THE  letter  was  written  on  the  first  day  of 
September,  1812,  by  Adoniram  Judson,  at 
Calcutta,  and  was  addressed  to  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas 
Baldwin,  of  Boston. 

It  was  on  a  matter  of  deepest  importance  to  Mr. 
Judson.  The  answer  to  it  would  make  a  great 
deal  of  difference  to  his  future  career,  and  to  the 
mission  which  he  intended  to  begin.  But  it  was 
useless  for  him  to  be  in  a  hurry.  Things  must 
move  slowly,  and  all  he  could  do  about  it  was 
to  wait  for  the  answer,  while  he  went  straight 
ahead  with  his  efforts  to  find  a  location  for  his 
mission. 

The  letter  did  not  leave  Calcutta  until  September 
nineteenth,  packed  away  somewhere  in  the  cargo 
of  the  ship  "  Tartar,"  bound  for  Boston.  For  four 
months  it  sailed  and  tossed  on  the  sea,  and  on 
the  nineteenth  of  January,  1813,  the  "  Tartar  " 
entered  the  icy  harbor  of  Boston.  That  was  just 
two  days  after  the  Judsons  and  Luther  Rice 
68 


A    LETTER    THAT    SOUNDED    THE    REVEILLE    69 

arrived  at  the  island  of  Mauritius,  on  their  weary 
journey  to  the  destination  then  unknown  to  them. 

Dr.  Thomas  Baldwin  was  at  that  time  one  of 
the  most  prominent  Baptists  in  New  England. 
He  was  about  sixty  years  old,  and  had  been  pastor 
of  the  Second  Baptist  Church  in  Boston  for  more 
than  twenty  years.  He  was  strong  in  body,  clear 
in  intellect,  steady  in  all  his  purposes  and  methods. 
When  the  letter,  which  had  come  all  the  way  from 
Calcutta,  was  delivered  to  him  he  was  thrilled, 
filled  with  joy  and  enthusiasm,  and  went  forth 
into  the  snowy  streets  of  Boston  to  proclaim  the 
news. 

One  of  the  first  persons  he  met  was  Daniel 
Sharp,  a  younger  Boston  minister. 

"  Here's  news  for  you !  "  exclaimed  Doctor 
Baldwin ;  "  one  of  those  young  missionaries  who 
were  ordained  at  Salem  last  year,  Adoniram  Jud- 
son,  and  his  wife,  became  Baptists  during  the 
voyage  to  Calcutta." 

Daniel  Sharp  could  hardly  credit  such  tidings. 

"  But  it  is  true,"  declared  Doctor  Baldwin ;  "  I 
have  just  received,  by  the  '  Tartar,'  a  letter  from 
Judson  himself.  It  contains  a  copy  of  the  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  the  Baptist  missionaries  in 
India,  telling  them  of  his  change  of  views ;  a  copy 


JO  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

of  his  letter  to  the  American  Board — his  heart 
is  almost  broken  over  the  necessity  of  separating 
from  them  and  his  dear  missionary  brethren — 
but  here,  Sharp,  here  is  the  part  of  the  letter  that 
concerns  you  and  me,  and  every  other  Baptist  in 
America ;  listen : 

" '  Should  there  be  formed  a  Baptist  So- 
ciety FOR  THE  SUPPORT  OF  A  MISSION  IN  THESE 
PARTS,  I  SHALL  BE  READY  TO  CONSIDER  MYSELF 
THEIR  MISSIONARY.'  " 

"  A  society  formed !  "  exclaimed  Daniel  Sharp. 
"  Of  course  there  will  be !  No  time  like  the 
present ;  let's  do  it  at  once !  " 

"  Not  quite  so  fast,  my  enthusiastic  young 
brother,"  smiled  kindly  Doctor  Baldwin.  "  This 
thing  is  tremendous ;  we  must  plan  for  something 
beyond  to-day.  We  must  be  sure  that  everything 
is  courteous  and  friendly  in  our  relations  with  the 
American  Board.  Then  we  must  not  confine  this 
opportunity  to  Boston ;  we  must  give  other  places 
the  chance  to  join  with  us  in  responding  to  this 
marvelous  call  of  God." 

Swiftly  the  news  spread,  and  it  was  like  a  bu- 
gle-call to  the  Baptists.  Not  because  Judson  had 
changed  his  views ;  the  excitement  over  that  would 
soon  have  passed  away.    The  reveille  was  in  that 


A   LETTER    THAT    SOUNDED    THE    REVEILLE    7 1 

phrase,  "  Should  there  be  formed  a  Baptist  So- 
ciety " — that  is  what  made  things  begin  to  hum. 

On  January  twenty-fifth,  six  days  after  the  ar- 
rival of  Judson's  letter,  a  Union  Missionary  Con- 
cert, or  Prayer  for  Missions,  was  started  in  Bos- 
ton, and  for  many  years  this  form  of  effort  kept 
the  love  for  mission  work  aglow  in  many  churches. 

Already  there  were  a  few  missionary  societies  in 
the  New  England  Baptist  churches,  and  one  of 
these  was  in  Salem.  This  society  had  contributed 
to  the  work  of  the  English  missionaries  in  India ; 
and  Judson,  when  he  wrote  to  Doctor  Baldwin, 
wrote  also  to  Dr.  Lucius  Bolles,  pastor  of  the 
Salem  Baptist  Church,  much  the  same  as  he  had 
written  to  Doctor  Baldwin.  When  the  letter 
reached  Salem  the  society  had  just  held  its  annual 
meeting,  but  when  the  news  was  spread  abroad,  a 
public  anniversary  of  the  Salem  Bible  Translation 
and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  held  on 
January  31,  181 3,  with  great  enthusiasm,  and 
avowed  purpose  of  supporting  Judson  in  his  work. 

Then  came  the  formation  of  the  Boston  Mis- 
sionary Society  at  the  house  of  Doctor  Baldwin, 
February  eighth.  They  were  not  afraid  of  long 
names  then,  and  they  called  it  "  The  Baptist  So- 
ciety for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  India  and  the 


7^  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

other  Foreign  Parts."  There  was  one  article  in 
the  constitution  of  this  society  which  showed  that 
those  who  formed  it  had  a  vision  of  the  grand 
results  that  were  going  to  spring  from  those  be- 
ginnings; it  provided  that  if  other  societies  were 
formed,  the  Boston  society  would  unite  with  them 
in  forming  a  general  committee.  There  was  the 
germ  of  a  national  organization. 

Wider  and  wider  spread  the  tidings.  People 
everywhere  talked,  discussed,  prayed,  and  re- 
joiced; and  the  money  for  missions  began  to  come 
in.  On  March  fourth  the  Salem  society  voted  to 
send  money  for  both  Carey  and  Judson.  A  few 
days  later,  March  fifteenth,  Luther  Rice  sailed 
from  Mauritius,  on  his  journey  to  arouse  interest 
in  missions  among  the  American  Baptists.  But 
before  he  sailed  they  had  heard  the  bugle-call 
of  Judson's  letter,  and  were  beginning  to  respond. 

There  were  many  remarkable  coincidences  in 
these  days.  On  the  seventh  of  May,  1813,  the 
Judsons  left  Mauritius  for  Rangoon,  without  any 
knowledge  of  what  would  be  done  for  them  in 
America.  But  on  May  sixth,  the  day  before  they 
sailed,  the  Boston  missionary  society  sent  a  letter 
to  Judson  stating  that  they  had  appointed  him  as 
their  missionary. 


A   LETTER    THAT    SOUNDED    THE    REVEILLE    JT, 

That  is  the  way  the  American  Baptists  began 
to  respond  to  Judson's  bugle-call.  Daniel  Sharp 
wrote  to  the  secretary  of  the  English  missionary 
society :  "  We  cannot  bear  that  our  brother  Judson 
should  be  neglected  or  left  to  suffer.  He  looks  to 
us  for  aid,  and  we  stand  ready  to  support  him." 
And  to  Judson  himself  Sharp  wrote :  "  Your  let- 
ter excited  peculiar  emotions.  We  considered 
it  as  the  voice  of  God  calling  us  to  the  formation 
of  a  mission  society."  So  that  it  may  truly  be 
said,  as  one  writer  has  well  expressed  it :  "  The 
call  was  not  a  fog-horn  in  the  night  to  awaken  a 
slumbering  people;  it  was  a  bugle  at  sunrise,  to 
notify  a  people  already  awake,  or  awaking,  of  a 
wider  and  nobler  opportunity,  and  to  hearten  them 
for  entering  it." 

And  now  comes  big  Luther  Rice  to  add  his  note 
to  the  bugle-call.  He  landed  in  New  York  Sep- 
tember 7,  1 813.  He  remained  in  New  York  over 
Sunday,  and  spoke  in  the  Oliver  Street  Baptist 
Church.  He  was  a  speaker  that  compelled  atten- 
tion ;  he  was  tall  and  commanding  in  appearance ; 
he  had  a  brilliant  mind,  he  was  an  eloquent  and 
powerful  orator,  and  he  had  a  story  to  tell  that 
everybody  was  eager  to  hear.  Years  afterward, 
Dr.  William  Hague,  pastor  of  the  church,  spoke 


74  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

of  this  occasion :  "  Never  did  the  audience  gather 
with  more  curious  interest,  combined  with  pro- 
found emotion,  to  listen  to  the  narrative  and 
appeal  of  Rev.  Luther  Rice,  so  soon  returned 
from  India,  on  the  Sunday  morning  that  followed 
his  arrival  in  America." 

The  "  whirlwind  campaign  "  of  a  modern  politi- 
cal candidate  is  no  more  rapid  and  exciting  than 
the  missionary  campaign  of  Luther  Rice.  He 
hastened  to  Boston,  where  he  arrived  September 
14,  1813.  First  he  attended  to  what  he  referred 
to  as  "  the  adjustment  of  the  sacred,  endearing, 
and  highly  responsible  relations  which  lately 
existed  between  myself  and  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  of  Foreign  Missions."  Then, 
in  two  weeks'  time — without  a  steam-car  or  trol- 
ley, or  automobile,  remember — he  had  conferred 
with  the  leaders  of  the  Boston  society,  visited 
many  of  the  surrounding  churches,  spoken  at 
many  meetings,  arranged  a  plan  of  campaign  with 
the  leaders,  and  on  September  twenty-ninth  was 
off  on  his  tour  of  speaking  and  organizing  soci- 
eties similar  to  the  Boston  society. 

How  did  he  go  ?  In  a  "  one-hoss  shay  "  most 
of  the  way;  at  least  we  know  that  when  he  was 
in  South  Carolina  the  horse  ran  away,  and  the 


A    LETTER    THAT    SOUNDED    THE    REVEILLE    75 

chaise  was  smashed,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Leland,  of 
Charleston,  "  set  forward  a  paper "  by  which 
one  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  was  raised, 
"  partly  to  make  up  his  loss,  and  partly  to  assist 
in  his  excellent  undertaking  of  evangelizing  the 
heathen." 

Almost  everywhere  he  went,  Rice's  story 
aroused  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Of  course  there 
were  objectors  to  missions  then,  some  very  sin- 
cere and  pious  ones,  as  there  are  even  unto  this 
day.  On  October  sixth  he  visited  the  Philadel- 
phia Association,  where  he  was  "  affectionately 
invited  to  a  seat  with  us,"  and  "  affectionately  re- 
quested "  to  tell  his  story.  As  he  went  on  south- 
ward the  affectionate  welcome  and  enthusiasm 
seemed  to  increase.  At  Washington  he  preached 
before  Congress,  in  Congress  Hall,  and  the  Hon. 
Judge  Bingham  "  set  forward  a  paper,"  and  the 
"  Hon.  Members  "  contributed  fifty-seven  dollars. 

Luther  Rice  had  a  "  way  with  him  "  that  won 
all  hearts  when  he  spoke.  In  his  appeal  for  help 
he  would  sometimes  imagine  the  angels  present, 
and  about  to  return  to  heaven,  and  then,  address- 
ing them  in  the  air,  he  bade  them  stay  until  the 
contribution  was  made,  that  they  might  carry  a 
gratifying  report   above.      No  wonder  that  his 


/6  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

report  of  contributions  included  "  Of  a  Lady, 
Charleston,  S.  C,  a  pair  of  gloves,"  and  "  Of  Cap- 
tain Bestor,  Washington,  a  pair  of  shoes,"  and  he 
makes  special  mention  of  twenty-five  cents  "  from 
two  or  three  blacks,  Sunbury,  Georgia.  These 
blacks  were  professors  of  religion.  They  had 
voluntarily  rowed  me  several  miles  in  a  boat, 
when,  instead  of  receiving  compensation,  which  I 
offered  them  for  their  services,  they,  understand- 
ing something  of  the  nature  of  my  business,  gave 
me  their  willing  contribution.  I  thought  of  the 
widow's  two  mites,  and  the  Saviour's  approba- 
tion." 

In  Richmond,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Balti- 
more, Washington,  New  York,  and  other  cities, 
missionary  societies  were  formed  and  liberal  con- 
tributions began  to  come  in.  But  all  this  enthu- 
siasm, organization,  and  liberality  were  simply 
steps  on  the  way  to  the  grand  achievement  to 
which  Judson's  reveille  called  the  American 
Baptists.  "  Should  there  be  formed  a  society," 
he  wrote.  More  and  more,  as  the  months  went 
by,  the  leaders  began  to  realize  the  meaning  of 
this — there  must  be  some  way  provided  by  which 
the  whole  denomination  could  act  together,  with 
one  heart  and  one  mind.    What  that  plan  should 


A   LETTER   THAT    SOUNDED    THE    REVEILLE    J  J 

be  was  eloquently  set  forth  by  Rev.  William  B. 
Johnson,  of  Georgia,  in  the  address  issued  by  the 
Savannah  society,  announcing  a  "  proposed  con- 
vention, in  some  central  situation  in  the  United 
States,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  an  efficient, 
practical  plan,  on  which  the  energies  of  the  whole 
Baptist  denomination  throughout  America  may 
be  elicited,  combined,  and  directed  in  one  sacred 
effort  for  sending  the  word  of  life  to  idolatrous 
lands.  What  a  sublime  spectacle  will  this  con- 
vention present !  " 

The  central  place  decided  upon  was  Philadel- 
phia, and  the  date  of  the  assembling  of  the  Con- 
vention was  May  18,  1814.  There  were  at  that 
time  eighteen  States  in  the  American  Union,  and 
eleven  of  them,  with  the  District  of  Columbia, 
were  represented  in  the  convention.  Thirty-three 
men,  in  time  of  war,  over  poor  roads,  with  no 
better  mode  of  transportation  than  horse-power, 
came  together  to  act  for  nearly  two  hundred  thou- 
sand Baptists.  They  chose  Doctor  Furman,  of 
Charleston,  president,  and  Doctor  Baldwin,  of 
Boston,  secretary. 

For  three  days  these  men  of  faith,  courage,  and 
remarkable  foresight  discussed  the  various  plans 
for  organization.     On  the  fourth  day,  Saturday, 


?8  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

May  21,  1814,  as  the  old  records  have  it,  "the 
important  question  was  put  by  the  president  in 
the  following  words :  '  Shall  this  constitution  be 
adopted,  as  the  basis  of  union,  and  the  rule  of 
conduct  to  be  observed  by  this  convention  and  its 
board  of  commissioners  ?  '  The  vote  was  unani- 
mously passed  in  the  affirmative  by  the  rising  of 
the  members." 

At  that  supreme  moment,  then,  there  were  in 
the  United  States  two  national  societies  for  for- 
eign missions,  just  beginning  their  glorious  and 
far-reaching  work.  And  in  Burma,  facing  the 
tremendous  problems  that  towered  before  him, 
was  the  man  who  had  a  prominent  share  in  the 
formation  of  the  American  Board,  and  whose 
far-sounding  reveille  was  the  call  that  led  to  the 
organization  of  "  The  General  Missionary  Con- 
vention of  the  Baptist  Denomination  of  the  United 
States  of  America  for  Foreign  Missions  "  * — Jud- 
son,  the  Pioneer. 


1  The  convention  was  generally  known  as  the  "  Triennial  Conven- 
tion," as  it  met  once  in  three  years.  In  1846  the  Northern  and 
Southern  supporters  divided,  forming  the  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Union,  and  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention.  In  1910  the 
name  of  the  Missionary  Union  was  changed  to  The  American  Bap- 
tist  Foreign   Mission   Society. 


VIII 

THE   PIONEER   FACING  THE   WILDERNESS 

THE  young  bride  and  bridegroom  from  Mas- 
sachusetts began  their  housekeeping  in  a 
teakwood  bungalow,  in  a  pleasant  rural  spot  half 
a  mile  outside  the  walls  of  Rangoon,  in  what  was 
then  the  kingdom  of  Burma.  It  was  sufficiently 
large,  and  suited  to  the  tropical  climate,  and  con- 
nected with  it  were  gardens  enclosed,  containing 
about  two  acres  of  ground  and  full  of  fruit  trees 
of  various  kinds.  There  they  might  dwell  as  in 
the  garden  of  God. 

But  when  the  pioneers  stepped  forth  from  this 
pleasant  spot  they  found  themselves  facing  the 
wilderness  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Burma  is 
about  four  times  the  size  of  New  England.  It  is 
divided  north  and  south  into  three  parallel  valleys 
by  the  Irawadi,  the  Salwin,  and  the  Sitang  rivers, 
with  the  mountain  ranges  that  guard  them.  Here 
are  the  rice-fields,  made  fertile  by  the  annual  over- 
flow of  the  rivers.  Northward  comes  the  rolling 
country,  with  ranges  of  hills,  and  finally  deep 

79 


80  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

forests,  high  mountains,  and  the  magnificent  de- 
files through  which  the  rivers  flow. 

Crocodiles  lurk  in  lazy  length  in  the  rivers ;  the 
jungles  swarm  with  wild  animals;  the  elephants 
are  caught  and  tamed  and  used  for  riding,  but  the 
tiger,  leopard,  wildcat,  and  rhinoceros  are  al- 
ways the  enemies  of  man,  as  are  also  the  many 
serpents,  including  the  hated  cobra,  whose  slight- 
est nip  is  sure  and  speedy  death.  The  pioneer's 
son,  Dr.  Edward  Judson,  of  New  York,  says :  "  I 
remember  how  my  father,  at  Moulmein,  took  his 
Burman  spear,  the  only  weapon  he  ever  used,  and 
went  down  into  the  poultry-yard  and  killed  a 
cobra,  whose  track  had  first  been  discovered  in 
the  dust  beneath  the  house.  And  one  of  the  ear- 
liest of  my  childish  memories  is  of  seeing  a  wild- 
cat that  was  caught  alive  in  the  belfry  of  the 
church  at  Moulmein."  And  these  conditions  re- 
main to-day  in  many  parts  of  Burma.  Only  a  few 
years  ago,  one  of  our  missionaries  was  riding 
alone  at  night  in  the  jungle  when  his  pony  reared 
and  snorted  terribly,  and  plunging,  pulled  the 
rider  to  his  knees  upon  the  ground.  When  at 
last  a  lantern  was  brought  it  revealed  the  white 
pony  covered  with  blood,  and  on  both  sides  of 
his   rump   the   deep   marks   of   a   huge    tiger's 


THE   PIONEER  FACING  THE  WILDERNESS      8l 

paws    that   measured   five    and    one-half    inches 
across. 

As  fierce  as  the  wild  animals  of  the  jungle  were  ! 
the  wild,  but  magnificent,  rulers  of  Burma,  whom 
the  pioneers  had  to  face.  The  capital  of  Burma 
at  that  time  was  the  Golden  City  of  Ava,  where 
the  king  lived  in  royal  state.  Hardly  a  trace  of  j 
that  city  remains  to-day.  The  kingdom  was 
divided  into  provinces,  each  one  of  which  was 
ruled  over  by  a  viceroy  or  governor.  The  Bur- 
mese very  appropriately  called  him  the  Eater,  for 
he  devoured  his  province  for  his  own  gain.  A 
few  months  after  they  arrived  at  Rangoon,  Ann 
Judson  visited  the  wife  of  the  viceroy  in  company 
with  a  French  lady.  "  My  object  in  visiting  her," 
says  Ann,  "  was,  that  if  we  should  get  into  any 
difficulty  with  the  Burmans,  I  could  have  access 
to  her,  when  perhaps  it  would  not  be  possible  for 
Mr.  Judson  to  have  an  audience  with  the  viceroy." 

Wise  Ann  Judson,  as  many  later  experiences 
revealed!  And  she  goes  on  to  give  a  very  inter- 
esting account  of  the  visit : 

"  We  had  to  wait  some  time,  but  the  inferior 
wives  of  the  viceroy  amused  us  by  examining 
everything  we  had  on,  and  trying  on  our  gloves 
and  bonnets.     At  last  her  highness   made   her 

F 


82  JUDSON   THE    PIONEER 

appearance,  dressed  richly  in  the  Burman  fashion, 
with  a  long  silver  pipe  in  her  mouth,  smoking. 
She  received  me  very  politely,  took  me  by  the 
hand,  seated  me  upon  a  mat,  and  herself  by  me. 
One  of  the  women  brought  her  a  bunch  of  flow- 
ers, of  which  she  took  several,  and  ornamented 
my  cap.  When  the  viceroy  came  in  I  really  trem- 
bled, for  I  never  before  beheld  such  a  savage- 
looking  creature.  His  long  robe  and  enormous 
spear  not  a  little  increased  my  dread.  He  spoke 
to  me,  however,  very  condescendingly,  and  asked 
if  I  would  drink  some  rum  or  wine." 

But  the  most  trying,  wearying  feature  of  the 
wilderness  which  the  pioneers  had  to  face  was  the 
desert  of  Buddhism,  that  great  system  of  religion 
which  is  not  really  idolatry,  at  least  in  its  teach- 
ings, in  spite  of  the  millions  of  images  and  pa- 
godas dedicated  to  its  founder,  Gautama.  It  is 
the  religion  that  teaches  the  sternest  morality — 
without  any  help  from  God;  that  describes  the 
most  terrible  punishments  for  evil-doing — with- 
out any  hope  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin;  the  re- 
ligion whose  highest  ideal  of  the  future  is  Nir- 
vana, or  Nigban,  "  a  flame  that  has  been  blown 
out,"  in  reality  the  total  destruction  of  existence. 

Buddhism  teaches  that  the  soul  may  pass 
through  countless  forms  of  existence,  it  may  be 


THE   SACRED   SHWE  DAGON    PAGODA 


THE  PIONEER  FACING  THE  WILDERNESS       83 

in  the  bodies  of  the  most  loathsome  beasts  or 
reptiles,  and  that  is  one  reason  why,  according  to 
Buddhist  teachings,  taking  the  life  of  any  living 
thing,  even  the  killing  of  poisonous  snakes,  is  held 
to  be  the  worst  of  all  sins.  The  priests,  to  avoid 
the  possibility  of  destroying  insect  life,  use  a  fine- 
meshed  brass  strainer  to  cleanse  their  drinking- 
water,  not  knowing  that  there  are  microbes  too 
small  for  any  strainer.  One  is  in  constant  danger 
of  eating  or  drinking  or  killing  his  great-grand- 
father, who  may  have  been  reborn  in  the  form  of 
a  snake  or  a  fish  or  a  mosquito ! 

There  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  Bud- 
dhism dominates  the  people  as  it  does  in  Burma, 
and  the  Judsons  had  been  led  to  one  of  the  very 
strongest  centers  of  Buddhism  in  all  the  world. 
Rangoon  itself,  in  1813,  has  been  described  as  "  a 
big  dirty  village,"  instead  of  the  fine  city  which  it 
is  to-day.  But  soon  the  young  missionaries  went 
a  little  distance  from  the  city  to  the  low  hill  on 
which  was  built,  centuries  ago,  the  most  famous 
of  all  Buddhist  shrines,  the  Shwe  Dagon  Pagoda. 
It  was  most  sacred,  because,  according  to  the 
Buddhist  legend,  it  was  built  upon  personal  relics 
of  three  Buddhas,  a  water  scoop  of  Gaunagon,  a 
robe  of  Kathapa,  a  staff  of  Kanthathon,  and,  most 


84  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

precious  of  all,   eight  hairs   from  the   head   of 
Gautama. 

When  they  had  ascended  a  flight  of  steps  a 
large  gate  opened,  and  as  Ann  afterward  de- 
scribed it: 

"  A  wild,  fairy  scene  is  abruptly  presented  to 
view.  It  resembles  more  the  descriptions  we 
sometimes  have  in  novels,  of  enchanted  castles,  or 
ancient  abbeys  in  ruins,  than  anything  we  ever 
met  in  real  life.  Here  and  there  are  large  open 
buildings,  containing  huge  images  of  Gautama, 
some  in  a  sitting,  some  in  a  sleeping  position.  Be- 
fore the  images  are  erected  small  altars,  on  which 
offerings  of  fruit  and  flowers  are  laid.  Large 
images  of  elephants,  lions,  angels,  and  demons 
assist  in  filling  the  picturesque  scene.  This  is  the 
season  for  the  great  feast  of  Gautama,  observed 
all  over  the  country,  and  I  presume  the  multitude 
collected  at  this  place  is  much  greater  than  at  any 
other,  excepting  Ava.  The  view  from  this  pagoda 
presents  one  of  the  most  beautiful  landscapes  in 
nature.  The  polished  spires  of  the  pagodas,  glis- 
tening among  the  trees  in  the  distance,  appear  like 
the  steeples  of  meeting-houses  in  our  American 
seaports.  The  hills  and  valleys,  ponds  and  rivers, 
whose  banks  are  covered  with  cattle  and  fields  of 
rice,  attract  the  eye,  and  cause  the  beholder  to  ex- 
claim, "  Was  this  delightful  country  made  to  be 
the  residence  of  idolaters  ?  "    Scenes  like  these  fire 


THE   PIONEER   FACING   THE   WILDERNESS     85 

the  soul  with  an  unconquerable  desire  to  make  an 
effort  to  rescue  this  people  from  destruction,  and 
lead  them  to  the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  they." 

"  Ann,  what  do  you  suppose  the  reason  is  that 
there  are  so  many  boys  following  the  priests 
around  the  pagoda,  and  worshiping  at  the 
shrines?  " 

This  is  a  question  that  Adoniram  very  likely 
asked  as  they  walked  about  the  pagoda,  for  the 
boys  are  always  there,  and  it  shows  one  of  the 
reasons  why  it  is  so  hard  for  Christianity  to  make 
any  headway  against  Buddhism.    Here  it  is : 

Every  Burman  boy  is  initiated  as  a  Buddhist 
priest. 

This  initiation  takes  place  when  the  boy  is  about 
twelve  years  old,  and  he  has  the  "  time  of  his 
life."  The  first  part  of  it  is  a  big  festival.  The 
boy's  sisters  dress  themselves  up  in  their  finest 
silks  and  jewels  and  go  around  the  town,  an- 
nouncing to  all  relatives,  friends,  and  neighbors 
when  the  initiation  will  take  place,  and  inviting 
them  to  the  feast. 

On  the  appointed  day  the  boy  dresses  up  in  his 
finest  clothes,  and  loads  himself  with  all  the  family 
gold  chains  and  jewelry,  and  more  which  is  bor- 
rowed for  the  occasion.    Then  he  takes  his  grand 


86  JUDSON    THE   PIONEER 

farewell  ride  around  the  village,  on  a  pony,  in  a 
richly  decorated  car,  or  on  a  gaily  harnessed  ele- 
phant. A  band  of  music  goes  before;  all  his 
friends  and  relatives  crowd  around,  decked  in 
their  gayest,  the  young  men  dancing  and  singing 
vigorously;  the  girls  laughing  and  smiling,  with 
powdered  faces  and  brilliant  dresses.  Thus  he 
goes  to  the  houses  of  his  relatives  to  bid  them 
farewell,  for  this  triumphant  march  is  meant  to 
imitate  Gautama's  last  appearance  as  a  prince, 
when  he  abandoned  his  family  and  kingdom  to 
become  a  Buddha. 

At  last  the  procession  comes  back  to  the  boy's 
home,  where  the  priests  are  waiting  to  put  him 
through  the  initiation.  He  throws  off  all  his  fine 
clothes  and  jewelry,  and  binds  a  piece  of  white 
cloth  around  his  loins.  Then  his  long  hair  is  cut 
off  close  to  his  head.  Often  the  locks  are  three  or 
four  feet  long,  and  are  carefully  kept  by  mother 
or  sister.  Next,  the  young  priest's  head  is  closely 
shaved,  washed  with  a  decoction  of  the  seeds  and 
bark  of  the  kin-bohn  tree,  and  rubbed  well  with 
saffron,  to  make  it  yellow.  Then  he  goes  before 
the  priests,  and  begs  to  be  admitted  to  the 
Holy  Order  of  the  Yellow  Robe.  The  priests 
put  the  yellow   robes  upon  him,   give  him  the 


"  EVERY   BURMAN    BOY   IS    INITIATED   AS    A   PRIEST  " 


^v       J^<t        mF   A 

■L  J 

JJ» 

rJw 

I    i9 

r?  --■ 

1  Jr 

fcb\iSBBI 

■  ■ 

H 

^IwtK 

?H 

STAND    WITH    MR.    JUDSON    IN    ONE   OF   THE    FAMOUS    CAVES 


THE    PIONEER    FACING    THE    WILDERNESS      87 

begging-pot,  and  he  goes  away  with  them  to  the 
monastery. 

Of  course  only  a  few,  comparatively,  of  these 
boys  remain  priests  through  life.  Many  of  them 
return  home  after  remaining  a  few  days  at  the 
monastery,  but  the  fact  that  every  boy  becomes  a 
priest  shows  the  hold  that  Buddhism  had,  and  still 
has,  upon  the  Burmans;  and  it  also  shows  why 
our  missionaries  are  so  anxious  to  get  the  Burman 
boys  into  the  mission  schools  when  they  are  five 
or  six  years  old,  so  as  to  forestall  that  heathen 
training. 

Piling  up  "  merit  " — that  was  one  feature  of 
Buddhism  that  the  pioneers  had  to  face,  and  it 
was  one  of  the  hardest  to  overcome.  Pagodas 
and  images  of  Gautama  rise  like  trees  of  the 
forest  all  over  the  land  of  Burma;  new  ones  are 
constantly  being  added — all  to  secure  "  merit  "  in 
the  next  world.  Buddhism  is  really  founded  on 
this  system  of  merit,  and  when  the  Burman  bows 
before  the  images,  he  is  not  exactly  worshiping 
Gautama,  but  by  repeating  the  formulas  of  the 
law,  and  bringing  offerings,  he  is  doing  the  only 
thing  that  a  man  can  do  to  prevent  terrible  suffer- 
ings after  death. 

When  a  pioneer  faces  the  wilderness  he  can  see 


88  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

trees,  rocks,  and  mountains;  but  he  knows  that 
in  the  dark  recesses  of  forest  or  cavern  there  lie 
hidden  dangers  which  he  cannot  see.  So  when 
Judson  faced  the  wilderness  of  Buddhism  he  soon 
found  underneath  and  beyond  the  temples  and 
images  which  he  could  see  the  most  all-pervasive 
superstitions  about  nature.  Every  rock,  river, 
mountain,  tree — everything  in  earth,  air,  and  sky 
had  its  unseen  nat,  or  spirit;  they  were  all  in 
league  against  men,  and  everybody  must  be  care- 
ful not  to  stir  up  their  enmity. 

Come  and  stand  with  Mr.  Judson  and  Major 
Crawfurd  in  one  of  the  famous  caves  near  Moul- 
mein  if  you  would  see  these  last  two  features 
startlingly  illustrated.  The  entrance  to  this  cave, 
as  it  is  described  by  a  friend  who  visited  the  Jud- 
sons  at  Moulmein,  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  perpen- 
dicular but  uneven  face  of  a  mountain.  The 
whole  face  of  the  mountain  is  covered  with 
images,  to  the  height  of  eighty  or  ninety  feet.  Of 
these  there  are  literally  thousands,  but  all  this  is 
as  nothing  compared  with  the  scene  inside  the 
cavern.  It  is  of  vast  size,  chiefly  in  one  apartment, 
which  needs  no  human  art  to  make  it  sublime. 
And  everywhere,  on  the  floor,  overhead,  on  the 
jutting  points,  and  on  the  stalactite  festoons  of 


THE    PIONEER   FACING    THE    WILDERNESS      89 

the  roof,  are  crowded  images  of  Gautama,  the 
offerings  of  successive  ages.  Some  are  of  stu- 
pendous size;  some  not  larger  than  one's  finger; 
some  new  and  gilded ;  some  moldering  with  age. 

These  were  the  images.  But  listen!  Here  is 
something  that  is  a  symbol  of  the  nats.  In  the 
dark  recesses  of  the  roof  of  the  cave  are  innumer- 
able bats.  Throw  up  among  them  a  broken  piece 
of  an  idol,  and  the  fluttering  of  their  wings  causes 
a  pulsation  of  the  air  like  the  deepest  base  of  a 
great  organ.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening  they  issue 
from  the  cave  in  a  thick  column,  which  extends 
unbroken  for  miles,  the  natives  say.  "  And  I  can 
confirm  it,"  Mr.  Judson  told  his  visitor;  "  for  I 
have  seen  it  when  at  the  cave  with  Major  Craw- 
furd  and  others."  So  spread  the  nat  superstitions 
over  all  Burma. 

As  the  pioneer  faced  this  wilderness  did  his 
courage  fail  ?  No ;  it  grew  brighter  and  stronger. 
As  he  said,  when  standing  before  the  splendid  pa- 
godas and  extensive  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Pagan :  "  We  looked  back  on  the  centuries  of 
darkness  that  are  past.  We  looked  forward,  and 
Christian  hope  would  fain  brighten  the  prospect. 
O  shade  of  Ah-rah-han,  weep  over  thy  falling 
fanes!     Thou  smilest  at  my  feeble  voice;  but  a 


90  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

voice  mightier  than  mine  will  ere  long  sweep  away 
every  trace  of  thy  dominion.  The  churches  of 
Jesus  will  soon  supplant  these  idolatrous  monu- 
ments, and  the  chanting  of  the  devotees  of  Bud- 
dha will  die  away  before  the  Christian  hymn  of 
praise." 


IX 

THE  PIONEER  BLAZING  THE  WAY 

FEARING  that  his  own  life  might  soon  come 
to  a  close,  he  determined  to  blaze  the  trees 
through  this  hitherto  untrodden  wilderness  of  the 
Burmese  language." 

In  these  words  Edward  Judson  exactly  sets 
forth  the  real  nature  of  his  father's  life  and  work. 
Adoniram  Judson  was  a  pioneer,  and  he  tried  to 
blaze  the  way  through  the  wilderness  before  him 
so  that  he  himself  would  not  lose  the  path,  and 
so  that  others  who  followed  him  might  be  helped 
in  building  a  better  and  broader  road. 

Clear  grit.  That  was  another  pioneer  quality 
that  he  had — the  resolution  not  to  quit,  until  his 
duty  was  done,  whether  he  could  see  great  results 
*or  not.  "  I  know  not,"  he  said,  "  that  I  shall  live 
to  see  a  single  convert ;  but  I  feel  that  I  would  not 
leave  my  present  situation  to  be  a  king.  If  a  ship 
was  lying  in  the  river,  ready  to  convey  me  to 
any  part  of  the  world,  I  would  prefer  dying  to 
embarking."    And  when  the  churches  in  America 

9i 


92  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

got  discouraged  because  they  did  not  hear  at 
once  that  the  mission  had  gained  many  converts, 
Judson  wrote :  "  If  they  are  unwilling  to  risk 
their  bread  on  such  a  forlorn  hope  as  has  nothing 
but  the  word  of  God  to  sustain  it,  beg  of  them, 
at  least,  not  to  prevent  others  from  giving  us 
bread ;  and  if  we  live  some  twenty  or  thirty  years, 
they  may  hear  from  us  again." 

That's  the  kind  of  man — simply  bursting  with 
enthusiasm,  faith,  and  energy — who  stood  dumb 
in  the  midst  of  the  millions  he  longed  to  speak  to, 
and  had  to  begin  to  blaze  his  way  by  buckling 
down  to  the  task  of  learning  a  most  difficult 
language.  "  Could  you  look  into  a  large,  open 
room,  which  we  call  a  veranda,"  Ann  wrote, 
"  you  would  see  Mr.  Judson  bent  over  his  table, 
covered  with  Burman  books,  with  his  teacher  at 
his  side,  a  venerable-looking  man  in  his  sixtieth 
year,  with  a  cloth  wrapped  around  his  middle, 
and  a  handkerchief  round  his  head.  They  talk 
and  chatter  all  day  long  with  hardly  any  cessa- 
tion." 

But  they  chattered  to  some  good  purpose.  In 
less  than  a  year  both  Judson  and  his  wife  began 
to  have  a  good  command  of  the  language.  "  I 
can  talk  and  understand  others  better  than  Mr. 


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PART  OF  THE   TEN    COMMANDMENTS    IN    BURMESE 


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PART  OF  THE   TEN   COMMANDMENTS    IN    SGAW   KAREN 


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PART   OF    THE    LORD'S    PRAYER    IN    SHAN 


O,  Htawhpilu  e,  Yesu  gaw  npawt  kaw 
nna,  dai,  chyoi  pra  ai  Wenyi  hte  shi  lata 
la  ai  k&sa  ni  hpe  ga  mStsun  htet  da 
nhtawm,  ntsa  de  shalun  la  ai  nhtoi  du 

THE  FIRST   VERSES   OF   THE   ACTS   OF   THE  APOSTLES 
IN    KACHIN 


SOME  OF   THE  LANGUAGES   OF   BURMA 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE    WAY  93 

Judson,"  said  Ann,  "  because  in  my  housekeeping 
duties  I  frequently  have  to  talk  Burman  all  day 
long." 

The  Burmans  have  many  books  and  are  great 
readers.  Therefore  one  of  the  first  things  that 
Judson  did  was  to  prepare  a  tract  which  should 
clearly  and  simply  set  forth  the  main  teachings 
of  the  Bible. 

The  story  of  this  tract  is  very  interesting.  It 
was  completed  on  July  30,  1816,  and  was  called 
"  A  View  of  the  Christian  Religion."  But  how 
could  this  be  printed?  The  answer  came  in  two 
ways;  first,  a  press  with  Burman  type  was  pre- 
sented to  the  mission  by  the  English  Baptist  breth- 
ren at  Serampore.  And  on  October  15,  1816, 
came  the  first  reenforcements  to  the  mission. 
They  were  Rev.  G.  H.  Hough  and  family;  and 
Mr.  Hough  was  a  practical  printer.  He  put  the 
printing-press  into  operation  at  once,  and  struck 
off  an  edition  of  a  thousand  copies  of  "  A  View 
of  the  Christian  Religion,"  and  three  thousand  of 
a  little  catechism  prepared  by  Mrs.  Judson.  Mr. 
Judson  always  had  great  faith  in  the  influence  of 
Christian  literature.  Quite  a  number  of  years 
later  he  wrote :  "  The  press  is  the  grand  engine 
for  Burma.    Every  pull  of  Brother  Bennett  (sue- 


94  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

cessor  to  Hough)  at  the  press  sends  another  ray 
of  light  through  the  darkness  of  the  empire." 
And  indeed  it  was  the  little  tracts  that  brought  to 
the  mission  the  first  real  inquirer  after  truth.  It 
was  on  the  seventh  of  March,  1817,  that  a  Burman 
came  in  where  Judson  was  sitting  with  his  teacher, 
and  astonished  him  by  asking, 

"  How  long  time  will  it  take  me  to  learn  the 
religion  of  Jesus  ?  " 

"  How  came  you  to  know  anything  of  Jesus  ? 
Have  you  ever  been  here  before?  " 

"  No ;  but  I  have  seen  two  little  books  about 
Jesus." 

"Who  is  Jesus?" 

"  '  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  who,  pitying  crea- 
tures, came  into  this  world,  and  suffered  death  in 
their  stead,'  "  replied  the  Burman,  in  almost  the 
very  words  of  the  tract.  Judson  handed  him  a 
tract  and  catechism,  which  he  instantly  recog- 
nized. "  I  cannot  tell  how  I  felt  at  that  mo- 
ment," Judson  wrote  that  very  day  to  the  society 
in  America.  "  This  was  the  first  acknowledgment 
of  an  eternal  God  that  I  had  ever  heard  from  a 
Burman."  This  man  came  several  times,  but 
never  made  an  open  confession  of  Christ. 

From  that  day  to  this,  those  little  tracts  have 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE    WAY  95 

continued  to  blaze  the  way  in  Burma.  Hundreds 
of  thousands  of  them  have  been  printed;  new 
editions  are  constantly  called  for,  and  through 
them  Adoniram  and  Ann  Judson  are  still  point- 
ing out  to  Burmans  the  way  of  the  Lord.  The 
press  still  continues,  and  has  become  a  really 
great  establishment. 

But  above  all,  Judson  wanted  to  blaze  the  way 
to  the  very  heart  of  the  Buddhist  wilderness  by 
the  spoken  word.  "  The  press  can  never  supplant 
the  pulpit,"  he  said.  "  When  eye  meets  eye,  when 
the  truth  is  pressed  home  by  the  earnest  voice  of 
the  speaker,  it  carries  conviction,  arouses  the  con- 
science, and  kindles  the  affections." 

So  at  first  he  did  not  try  to  reach  great  crowds. 
His  preaching  is  described  as  a  sort  of  "  spirit- 
ual button-holing."  A  single  person  would  enter 
into  discussion  with  the  missionary  and  others 
would  draw  near  to  witness  the  encounter.  What 
courage  and  enthusiasm  it  took  to  attack  the  great 
mass  of  Buddhism  in  that  way!  Yet  he  could 
handle  the  language  so  well,  and  was  so  keen  in 
argument,  that  he  often  drew  exclamations  of 
admiration  from  the  bystanders. 

But  it  was  in  its  appeal  to  the  heart  that  Jud- 
son's  preaching  was  greatest.     One  missionary 


96  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

told  how  it  impressed  him  the  first  time  he  heard 
y  Mr.  Judson  preach :  "  Though  I  did  not  know 
the  meaning  of  a  single  sentence  he  uttered,  still 
my  attention  was  never  more  closely  riveted.  It 
was  his  earnestness  of  manner.  Every  tone,  every 
look,  every  gesture  spoke  out  to  tell  us  that  the 
man  was  in  earnest.  And  every  hearer  sat  mo- 
4  tionless,  every  eye  was  immovably  fixed  upon  the 
preacher."  Once,  when  he  was  speaking  to  a 
convert  who  was  wavering,  he  said  earnestly: 

"  Woman,  think !  Dare  you  deliberately  leave 
this  straight  and  narrow  path,  drawn  by  the 
Saviour's  finger,  and  go  away  for  one  moment 
into  that  of  the  enemy?  Will  you?  will  youf 
will  you  ?  " 

"  I  was  sobbing  so,"  said  the  woman,  as  she 
told  the  story,  "  that  I  could  not  speak  a  word ; 
but  he  knew,  as  he  always  did,  what  I  meant ;  for 
he  knelt  and  prayed  for  me.  And  ever  since 
that  day,  when  I  am  tempted,  I  see  the  teacher  as 
he  looked  that  day,  his  finger  pointing  along  the 
path  of  eternal  life,  his  eye  looking  so  strangely 
over  his  shoulder,  and  that  terrible  '  Will  you  ?  ' 
coming  from  his  lips  as  though  it  was  the  voice 
of  God." 

It  is  often  said  that  Judson  "  waited  "  seven 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE    WAY  97 

years  before  the  first  Burman  acknowledged  his 
faith  in  Christ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  his 
"  waiting  "  consisted  of  the  most  intense  activity 
and  effort.  The  story  of  the  first  convert  is 
linked  closely  with  the  story  of  the  opening  of 
the  zayat  in  Rangoon. 

A  few  months  after  the  Judsons  came  to  Ran- 
goon they  moved  from  the  bungalow  outside  the 
walls,  where  they  were  exposed  to  the  dangers  of 
robbers  and  wild  beasts,  into  the  city  proper.  The 
mission  house  was  their  home,  and  the  center  of 
mission  activity.  There,  in  1815,  a  little  son, 
Roger  Williams  Judson,  was  born.  "  Our  little 
comfort,  our  dear  little  Roger,"  his  father  called 
him.  But  he  lived  only  seven  months.  "  Since 
worship  I  have  stolen  away  to  a  much  loved  spot," 
so  Ann  revealed  her  heart  in  one  of  her  letters, 
"  where  I  love  to  sit  and  pay  the  tribute  of  af- 
fection to  my  lost  darling  child."  The  spot  was 
a  little  bamboo  house  in  a  mango  grove,  near  the 
baby's  grave. 

Yet  through  all  these  joys  and  sorrows  of 
home  life  and  daily  experience,  there  was  a  steady 
purpose  to  blaze  the  way  farther  into  the  Buddhist 
wilderness  by  establishing  a  place  for  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  God.     That  was  the  underlying 

G 


98  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

reason  why  Mr.  Judson  started  out  on  his  jour- 
ney to  Chittagong,  which  brought  such  trying 
experiences  both  to  him  and  to  Mrs.  Judson. 

On  May  20,  181 7,  Judson  finished  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  another  stupendous  task  that  he  joy- 
fully undertook,  the  translation  of  "  the  whole 
Bible  for  all  Burma."  But  he  had  studied  so 
closely  for  more  than  four  years  that  his  health 
broke  down,  and  he  needed  a  sea-voyage  to 
restore  it. 

"  I  will  take  a  voyage  to  Chittagong,"  he  said. 
Chittagong  was  a  province  which  had  been  ceded 
by  the  Burman  kingdom  to  the  English.  A  mis- 
sion had  been  established  there  by  the  English 
Baptists,  a  few  converts  had  been  made,  and  then 
the  mission  was  abandoned.  "  If  I  go  there," 
thought  Judson,  "  perhaps  I  can  collect  those 
scattered  converts,  and  bring  two  or  three  of 
them  to  Rangoon.  When  we  begin  to  have  public 
worship  I  shall  need  a  native  helper." 

So  he  embarked  on  a  vessel  bound  for  Chitta- 
gong, December  25,  1817,  expecting  to  be  absent 
from  Rangoon  only  three  months.  But  he  was 
doomed  to  all  sorts  of  disappointment.  First,  the 
course  of  the  ship  was  changed,  so  that  instead  of 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE    WAY  99 

going  up  the  coast  of  Burma,  they  sailed  west- 
ward, across  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  toward  Madras, 
and  Mr.  Judson  knew  from  that  time  that  there 
was  no  hope  of  his  ever  reaching  Chittagong. 

That  ship  must  have  been  a  crazy  old  craft,  for 
it  became  unmanageable,  and  instead  of  being  a 
few  weeks  they  were  months  at  sea.  Provisions 
and  water  ran  short ;  Mr.  Judson  was  attacked  by 
a  slow  fever,  and  lay  in  his  berth,  begging  con- 
tinually for  water!  water!  water!  At  last  they 
reached,  not  Madras,  but  Masulipatam,  and  Mr. 
Judson  managed  to  pencil  a  note  to  "  any  English 
resident,"  begging  only  for  a  place  on  shore  to 
die.  But  the  response  was  more  than  kind.  Soon 
a  sailor  came  below  and  said, 

"  Sir,  a  boat  is  coming  from  the  shore." 
Judson  crawled  to  the  window  of  his  cabin 
and  saw  in  the  swiftly  moving  boat  both  the  red 
coat  of  the  military  and  the  white  jacket  of  the 
civilian.  In  the  thrill  of  joyful  surprise  and 
awakening  hope,  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees 
and  wept.  "  Those  English  faces  looked  to  me 
like  angels,"  he  said  in  telling  the  story  long 
afterward.  One  of  the  officers  took  him  to  his 
own  house,  supplied  his  wardrobe,  and  procured 
a  nurse. 


IOO  JUDSON   THE    PIONEER 

Under  this  generous  treatment  Mr.  Judson 
rapidly  gained  his  health.  He  could  not  reach 
Madras  by  sea,  so  he  hired  a  palanquin  and  bear- 
ers, and  made  the  journey,  about  three  hundred 
miles,  by  land.  At  Madras  he  at  length  found  a 
ship  bound  for  Rangoon,  and  anchored  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Rangoon  River  August  2,  18 18. 

When  the  pilot  came  on  board  he  brought  news 
that  told  another  story  of  peril  and  heroism. 
About  the  time  when  Mrs.  Judson  expected  that 
her  husband  would  return,  a  vessel  arrived  at 
Rangoon  from  Chittagong  with  the  tidings  that 
neither  Mr.  Judson  nor  the  ship  had  been  heard 
of  at  that  port.  And  as  if  that  was  not  enough 
to  distress  her,  trouble  began  between  the  Burman 
Government  and  the  little  mission.  Mr.  Hough 
received  a  message  in  the  most  threatening  lan- 
guage, to  "  appear  at  the  court-house  and  give  an 
account  of  himself." 

All  the  natives  about  the  mission  were  fright- 
ened almost  to  death.  They  knew  very  well  what 
might  be  hidden  under  such  an  order,  and  some 
of  them  heard  the  officers  say  that  all  the  foreign 
teachers  were  going  to  be  banished.  Mr.  Hough 
was-  required  to  give  security  for  his  appearance 
the  next  day,  and  was  grimly  told : 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE    WAY  IOI 

"If  you  do  not  tell  all  the  truth  with  regard  to 
your  situation  in  this  country,  we  will  write  it 
with  your  heart's  blood." 

They  kept  Mr.  Hough  at  the  court-house  for 
several  days,  asking  him  all  sorts  of  foolish  ques- 
tions, such  as  the  names  of  his  father  and  mother, 
and  how  many  suits  of  clothes  he  had.  He  could 
not  speak  Burmese  well  enough  to  appeal  to  the 
viceroy,  and  so  the  heartless  officials  thought  they 
could  impose  upon  him  all  they  pleased.  What 
they  really  wanted  was  money. 

But  they  reckoned  without  heroic  Ann  Jud- 
son — "  Esther  "  Jndson  she  became  for  this  crisis. 
The  old  viceroy  and  his  wife,  who  had  always 
been  the  steady  friends  of  the  Judsons,  had  been 
recalled  to  Ava.  There  was  a  new  viceroy  at 
Rangoon,  and  his  chief  wife,  the  vicereine,  had 
not  arrived. 

Now  it  was  not  customary  for  women  to  ap- 
pear at  the  court  of  the  viceroy  in  the  absence  of 
the  vicereine,  but  Ann  Judson  resolved  in  her 
heart :  "  I  will  go  unto  the  viceroy,  even  if  it  is 
not  according  to  the  law;  and  if  I  perish,  I 
perish." 

So,  with  the  help  of  Mr.  Judson's  Burman 
teacher,  she  drew  up  a  petition  and  carried  it 


102  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

herself  to  the  viceroy.  He  was  graciously  pleased 
to  receive  her.  With  her  matchless  womanly 
tact,  speaking  the  Burmese  language  almost  like  a 
native,  she  conciliated  the  viceroy.  He  granted 
her  request,  and  immediately  commanded  that 
Mr.  Hough  should  be  molested  no  more. 

Boom!  Boom!  Cannon  to  ward  off  the 
dreaded  cholera  began  to  be  fired  in  the  city,  every 
one  began  beating  his  house  with  clubs  and  other 
instruments  of  uproar,  and  yet  the  death-gong 
sounded  all  day  long  through  the  streets  of  Ran- 
goon. Rumors  of  war  with  England  came.  One 
by  one  the  English  ships  weighed  anchor  and 
slipped  out  of  the  harbor  till  only  one  was  left. 

With  all  these  dangers  surrounding  the  mis- 
sion, Mr.  Hough  wished  to  take  the  printing  out- 
fit, and  all  the  remaining  mission  family,  and 
leave  for  Bengal  on  this  last  ship.  He  endeavored 
to  persuade  Mrs.  Judson  to  agree  to  this  plan. 
It  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  it  were  the  only  thing 
to  do.  Mr.  Judson,  she  was  convinced,  had  been 
lost  at  sea.  "  Sometimes,"  she  wrote  to  a  friend 
in  those  dark  days,  "  I  feel  inclined  to  remain 
here,  alone,  and  hazard  the  consequences.  I 
should  certainly  conclude  on  this  step,  if  any 
probability  existed  of  Mr.  Judson's  return."    But 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING   THE   WAY  IO3 

at  length  she  was  persuaded  to  go.  Her  passage 
was  paid,  her  baggage  was  on  board,  and  she 
embarked  with  Mr.  Hough  and  his  family. 

Now  see  how  little  incidents  become  the  hinges 
on  which  important  events  turn.  When  the  ship 
was  ready  to  put  out  to  sea,  it  was  found  that  she 
was  badly  loaded,  and  that  there  must  be  a  delay 
in  order  to  shift  cargo. 

Then  the  intrepid  soul  of  Ann  Judson  arose  in 
its  strength,  and  "  Deborah  "  Judson,  the  Mother 
in  Israel,  went  forth  from  that  ship,  went  back 
into  cholera-stricken,  distressed  Rangoon,  went 
back  to  dwell  alone,  except  for  her  Burman  serv- 
ants, in  the  great  mission  house,  to  take  charge  of 
that  mission  till  her  husband  should  return,  or  till 
the  Lord  should  reveal  to  her  the  path  to  take. 
Her  little  household  gathered  around  her  with 
cries  of  joy,  and  she  spread  above  them  the  wings 
of  protection,  and  committed  them  all  into  the 
hand  of  God. 

Then  the  sun  broke  through  the  dark  clouds 
brightly.  In  a  very  short  time  Mr.  Judson  re- 
turned from  his  fruitless  journey.  There  was  a 
happy  reunion  at  the  mission  house,  and  its  hero- 
ine was  very  glad  to  stop  being  "  Esther  "  and 
"  Deborah,"  and  become  just  Ann  once  more. 


104  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

At  this  time  too,  reenforcements  came.  On 
September  19,  18 18,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colman,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheelock  arrived  at  Rangoon  and 
joined  the  mission. 

Therefore,  though  he  had  failed  to  get  the 
native  helper  that  he  needed,  Mr.  Judson  went 
right  forward  with  the  building  of  a  chapel,  or 
zayat,  as  it  was  called,  for  public  worship.  It  was 
situated  about  thirty  or  forty  rods  from  the  mis- 
sion house,  and  had  three  divisions.  The  first 
was  open  to  the  street,  where  Mr.  Judson  could 
sit  all  day  long  and  call  out  to  the  passers-by,  in 
that  stentorian  voice  of  his,  "  Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth !  "  The  middle  division  was  a  large,  airy 
room,  suitable  for  public  worship,  and  the  third 
was  a  small  room  where  Mrs.  Judson  met  with 
the  women. 

In  this  zayat,  on  April  4,  18 19,  the  first  public 
service  of  our  Burman  mission  was  held.  It  is 
a  date  to  be  remembered,  for  other  reasons  also. 
It  was  the  first  time  that  Mr.  Judson  had  ven- 
tured to  preach  to  a  Burman  audience — he  didn't 
call  his  street  talks  and  conversations  preaching, 
and  he  had  now  been  in  Rangoon  for  nearly  six 
years. 

It    was    very    soon    afterward    that    the    first 


THE    PIONEER    BLAZING    THE   WAY  IO5 

convert  turned  from  Buddhism  to  the  living  God. 
His  name  was  Moung  Nau,  and  he  is  first  men- 
tioned in  Judson's  journal  on  May  first.  "  He  was 
with  me  for  several  hours  yesterday,  but  from  his 
silence  and  reserve  excited  little  attention  or  hope. 
To-day,  however,  I  begin  to  think  better  of  him." 

Oh,  how  the  heart  of  the  sower  of  the  seed 
rejoiced  as  he  saw  this  first  blade  of  grain  on 
good  ground  grow  and  thrive !  "  It  seems  almost 
too  much  to  believe,"  he  wrote  on  May  fifth, 
"  that  God  has  begun  to  manifest  his  grace  to  the 
Burmans;  but  this  day  I  could  not  resist  the  de- 
lightful conviction  that  this  is  really  the  case. 
Praise  and  glory  be  to  His  name  forever- 
more,  Amen." 

Then  came  two  Sabbath  days  of  that  summer 
of  1 8 19  which  brought  joy  to  the  heart  of  the 
pioneer.  One  was  the  twenty-seventh  of  June. 
After  the  regular  service  at  the  zayat,  Moung  Nau 
proclaimed  his  new  faith,  and  prayer  was  offered. 
"  We,  then,"  Judson  wrote,  "  proceeded  to  a 
large  pond  in  the  vicinity,  the  bank  of  which  is 
graced  with  an  enormous  image  of  Gautama,  and 
there  administered  baptism  to  the  first  Burman 
convert.  Oh,  may  it  prove  the  beginning  of  a 
series  of  baptisms  in  the  Burman  Empire  which 


106  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

shall  continue  in  uninterrupted  succession  to  the 
end  of  time! " 

The  next  Sunday,  July  fourth,  the  pioneer 
"  had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  down  to  the  table, 
for  the  first  time,  with  a  Burman  convert,  and  it 
was  my  privilege — to  which  I  have  been  looking 
forward  with  desire  for  many  years — to  admin- 
ister the  Lord's  Supper  in  two  languages." 

No  wonder  Judson  hastened  to  send  the  account 
to  the  homeland;  and  when  at  last  it  came,  the 
faithful  ones  were  glad,  and  went  from  house  to 
house  repeating  the  joyful  tidings,  "  There's  been 
a  convert !    There's  been  a  convert  in  Burma !  " 


X 

ENTERING  THE  GOLDEN  CITY 

SOON  after  the  baptism  of  Moung  Nau  two 
other  converts  came  forward,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 10,  1819,  Judson  joyfully  wrote:  "This  eve- 
ning is  to  be  marked  as  the  date  of  the  first  Bur- 
man  prayer-meeting  that  was  ever  held.  None 
present  but  myself  and  the  three  converts.  Two 
of  them  made  a  little  beginning — such  as  must  be 
expected  from  the  first  essay  of  converted 
heathens." 

Many  other  Burmans  were  inquiring  into  the 
new  religion,  among  them  a  teacher,  who  brought 
some  of  his  followers  to  the  zayat.  This  was  dis- 
pleasing to  the  viceroy  of  Rangoon,  and  he  gave 
the  order, 

"  Inquire  further." 

These  words  sound  harmless  enough,  but  they 
instantly  scattered  the  group  of  inquirers.  They 
knew  that  "  inquire  further  "  might  mean  loss  of 
property,  imprisonment,  being  trampled  by  ele- 
phants— any  form  of  torture.  Its  effect  was  felt  at 

107 


108  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

once  by  the  missionaries  themselves.  When  they 
rode  out  one  morning  to  a  tank  where  they  were 
accustomed  to  take  a  bath,  they  were  met  by  an 
official  and  forbidden  to  ride  that  way  again,  on 
pain  of  being  beaten.  The  new  converts  proved 
their  genuineness  by  standing  firm,  but  hope  of 
future  success  in  Rangoon  was  over  for  the 
present. 

What  did  the  pioneer  do  in  this  emergency? 
"  He  determined  to  beard  the  lion  in  his  lair." 
That  is,  he  resolved  to  go  to  Ava,  the  Golden  City, 
the  capital  of  Burma,  and  lay  the  whole  matter  at 
the  Golden  Feet;  to  try  to  get  permission  from 
the  emperor  himself  to  teach  the  Christian  religion 
in  Burma.  If  he  succeeded,  no  viceroy  could 
molest  him;  if  he  failed,  conditions  would  be  no 
worse. 

Mr.  Judson  applied  to  the  viceroy  for  a  pass 
to  "  go  up  to  the  Golden  Feet,  and  lift  our  eyes 
to  the  Golden  Face."  It  was  granted  in  very 
polite  terms,  and  on  December  21,  1819,  Mr. 
Judson  and  Mr.  Colman,  one  of  the  new  mission- 
aries, who  had  considerable  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine, started  up  the  Irawadi  in  a  boat  six  feet 
wide  and  forty  feet  long,  with  a  crew  of  sixteen, 
and  the  trusty  Moung  Nau  as  steward,  and  an 


ENTERING   THE   GOLDEN    CITY  IOQ 

Englishman,  who  had  charge  of  the  guns  and 
blunderbusses,  to  ward  off  the  river  pirates.  With 
some  knowledge  of  the  elaborate  system  of  Bur- 
man  graft,  they  took  fine  pieces  of  cloth  and  other 
valuable  articles  as  presents  to  officials,  and  for 
the  emperor  a  Bible,  bound  in  gold,  in  six  vol- 
umes, and  each  volume  enclosed  in  a  rich  wrapper. 

About  the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  1820,  they 
arrived  near  Ava,  four  hundred  miles  above  Ran- 
goon. By  means  of  presents  to  public  ministers 
and  other  officers,  they  had  managed  to  gtt  word 
of  their  arrival  to  the  emperor,  and  he  was  pleased 
to  say, 

"  Let  them  be  introduced." 

So  they  went  to  the  royal  palace.  At  the  outer 
gate  they  were  detained  a  long  time.  When  they 
were  allowed  to  enter,  they  deposited  a  present 
for  the  private  minister  of  state,  and  were 
ushered  into  his  apartments  in  the  palace  yard. 
They  showed  him  the  books  and  petition  which 
they  had  brought,  told  him  they  were  teachers 
of  religion,  and  desired  to  present  the  books  and 
petition  to  the  emperor.  He  began  to  talk  with 
them  about  their  religion,  when  suddenly  a  voice 
announced, 

"  The  Golden  Foot  will  advance." 


IIO  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

That  meant  the  emperor's  reception  would  soon 
be  over.  The  minister  sprang  up,  began  to  put 
on  his  robes  of  state,  and  exclaimed, 

"  How  can  you  propagate  religion  in  this  em- 
pire?   But  come  along!" 

The  hearts  of  the  missionaries  sank  at  these 
words.  But  they  followed  the  minister  into  a 
spacious  hall,  with  a  lofty  dome,  supported  by 
many  pillars,  the  whole  covered  with  gold,  and 
presenting  a  most  imposing  spectacle. 

The  emperor  entered  the  hall  with  the  proud 
gait  and  majesty  of  an  Eastern  monarch.  Every 
head  except  those  of  the  missionaries  was  bent 
upon  the  ground.  When  he  drew  near  the  kneel- 
ing Judson  and  Colman  he  stopped,  partly  turned 
toward  them,  and  spoke, 

"  Who  are  these  ?  " 

"  The  teachers,  great  king,"  replied  Judson. 

"  What,  you  speak  Burman ! — are  you  the 
priests  I  heard  of  last  night  ?  "  "  Are  you  teach- 
ers of  religion?  "  "  Are  you  married?  "  "  Why 
do  you  dress  so  ?  "  the  emperor  went  on  ques- 
tioning them. 

When  he  appeared  to  be  pleased,  the  petition 
was  read  and  the  prime  minister  crawled  forward 
and  presented  it  to  him.    He  read  it  carefully. 


ENTERING    THE    GOLDEN    CITY  III 

Then  came  the  critical  moment,  when  the  tract 
on  "  A  View  of  the  Christian  Religion "  was 
handed  the  emperor.  "  O  God,  have  mercy  on 
Burma!  Have  mercy  on  her  king!"  Judson 
prayed  in  his  heart. 

But  the  time  was  not  yet  come. 

The  emperor  took  the  tract,  without  saying  a 
word,  and  read  the  sentences :  "  There  is  one 
Being  who  exists  eternally;  who  is  exempt  from 
sickness,  old  age,  and  death ;  who  was,  is,  and  will 
be,  without  beginning  and  without  end.  Besides 
this,  the  true  God,  there  is  no  other  God."  Then, 
with  an  air  of  indifference,  a  sneer  of  disdain,  he 
cast  the  tract  to  the  ground. 

That  was  enough.  The  purpose  of  the  mis- 
sionaries was  defeated,  and  they  knew  it.  "  His 
majesty  has  no  use  for  your  sacred  books;  take 
them  away,"  announced  the  prime  minister,  and 
they  were  hurried  out  of  the  palace  a  good  deal 
more  swiftly  than  they  came  into  it. 

Nothing  was  left  for  them  now  but  to  return 
to  Rangoon,  and  even  that  was  no  easy  matter. 
They  had  to  have  a  passport,  and  now  that  the 
king  had  not  received  them  favorably,  every- 
body felt  free  to  treat  them  harshly.  It  took  a 
good  many  "  handsome  presents  "  to  secure  the 


112  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

passport,  but  at  last  it  came.  "  Sent  the  people 
with  a  quantity  of  silver.  This  did  the  business. 
Late  in  the  evening  I  had  the  pleasure  of  taking 
into  my  hand  the  pointed  palm-leaf,"  Judson 
wrote  in  his  journal,  February  5,  1820,  and  the 
next  day,  "  Pushed  off  the  beach.  I  could  moral- 
ize half  an  hour  on  the  apt  resemblance  between 
the  state  of  our  feelings  and  the  sandy,  barren 
surface  of  this  miserable  beach.  But  'tis  idle  all. 
Let  the  beach  and  our  sorrow  go  together.  Some- 
thing better  will  turn  up  to-morrow." 

Thus  they  returned  to  Rangoon  in  utter  fail- 
ure, and  Judson  had  it  in  his  mind  to  transfer 
the  mission  to  Chittagong,  where  he  could  preach 
to  Burmans  under  the  protection  of  the  British 
flag. 

Then  was  revealed  the  power  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  to  make  heroes  out  of  heathen.  When 
Judson  gathered  the  little  company  of  converts 
and  inquirers  together,  and  pictured  the  suffer- 
ings Burmans  would  have  to  endure  if  he  con- 
tinued to  teach  them  after  his  failure  at  Ava,  they 
all  besought  him  to  stay  on.  "  We  will  suffer 
persecution,  and  even  death,"  they  declared, 
"  rather  than  give  up  Christ.  Stay  with  us,  be- 
loved teacher,  till  a  little  church  is  gathered,  and 


ENTERING    THE    GOLDEN    CITY  II3 

then  if  you  must  go,  we  will  not  say  nay.  This 
religion  will  spread.    The  emperor  cannot  stop  it." 

So  the  heroism  of  the  disciples  prevailed  to 
keep  the  teacher  in  Rangoon.  It  was  thought  best 
for  Mr.  Colman  to  go  to  Chittagong,  and  again 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were  left  alone  at  the  mis- 
sion. But  when  the  shadow  of  persecution  was 
darkest  and  nearest,  seven  Burmans,  one  after 
another,  were  converted  and  baptized,  among 
them  Mah  Men  La,  the  first  woman  convert,  and 
Moung  Shwa  Gnong,  a  learned  skeptic,  who  de- 
clared that  the  thing  which  convinced  him  most 
of  all  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity  was  the 
genuine  affection  which  the  converts  showed  one 
to  another. 

But  in  the  midst  of  this  prosperity  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson  were  obliged  to  leave  Rangoon  on 
account  of  the  serious  illness  of  Mrs.  Judson. 
They  embarked  for  Calcutta  July  19,  1820.  The 
sense  of  absolute  devotion  which  Judson  had  for 
his  work  is  revealed  in  the  explanation — almost 
an  apology — which  he  sent  to  the  society :  "  I  felt 
that  the  strictest  devotedness  to  the  mission  did 
not  forbid  my  leaving  the  station  for  a  time,  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  recovery  of  one  who  had 
been  my  faithful  coadjutor  in  missionary  priva- 

H 


114  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

tion  and  toil  for  many  years."  Unlimited  love 
for  the  mission  and  for  his  dear  wife  are  hidden 
under  the  big  words  which  were  then  so  com- 
monly used  by  educated  people. 

Three  months  they  spent  in  Serampore,  near 
Calcutta,  resting,  gaining  in  health  and  strength, 
and  enjoying  companionship  of  the  English  mis- 
sionaries there  and  of  the  affectionate  family  of 
Mr.  Hough,  the  missionary  printer.  Then  they 
returned  to  Rangoon,  welcomed  joyously  by  the 
little  band  of  native  Christians,  assembled  on  the 
wharf  to  meet  them,  and  eagerly  entered  into 
their  missionary  work  once  more. 

In  his  dealings  with  men  from  day  to  day, 
Adoniram  Judson  was  a  good  deal  like  the  Mas- 
ter whom  he  so  devotedly  followed — very  tender 
with  the  genuine  seeker,  but  a  bit  sharp  with  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees.  There  came  to  him  one 
day  one  Moung  Long,  a  very  wily  skeptic,  scarcely 
believing  in  his  own  existence.  At  first  he  was  all 
humility  and  respect,  but  soon  he  put  in  his  sophis- 
try: "  You  say  that  in  the  beginning  God  created 
a  man  and  a  woman.  I  do  not  understand  (beg- 
ging your  lordship's  pardon)  what  a  man  is,  and 
why  he  is  called  a  man." 

That  was  a  good  deal  like  starting  the  works 


ENTERING   THE   GOLDEN   CITY  115 

of  a  machine-gun.  "  My  eyes  were  opened  in  an 
instant  to  his  real  character ;  and  I  had  the  happi- 
ness to  be  enabled,  for  about  twenty  minutes,  to 
lay  blow  after  blow  upon  his  skeptical  head,  with 
such  effect  that  he  kept  falling  and  falling;  and 
though  he  made  several  desperate  attempts  to  get 
up,  he  found  himself  at  last  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  unable  to  stir." 

In  the  summer  of  1821,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson 
were  both  taken  ill  again,  and  Mrs.  Judson's  case 
became  so  serious  that  there  was  no  chance  of  her 
recovery  in  Burma.  Her  only  hope  was  to  go 
to  America,  and  she  left  Rangoon  August  21, 
1821. 

The  only  reason  why  Mr.  Judson  did  not  go 
to  America  with  his  wife  was — he  was  a  pioneer. 
To-day  the  missionary  would  be  granted  a  fur- 
lough, with  some  one  to  take  his  place.  But  there 
was  no  one  to  take  Judson's  place.  Ann  wrote 
about  this  separation :  "  Duty  to  God,  to  our- 
selves, to  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  to  the  per- 
ishing Burmans,  compelled  us  to  this  course  of 
procedure,  though  agonizing  to  all  the  natural 
feelings  of  our  hearts." 

For  four  months  after  Mrs.  Judson  left,  Mr. 
Judson  was  alone — and  lonesome,  as  his  letters 


Il6  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

show — at  Rangoon.  But  he  kept  steadily  at 
work,  and  on  December  13,  1821,  Dr.  Jonathan 
Price,  a  medical  missionary,  joined  the  mission. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  great  changes.  The 
emperor  heard  of  Doctor  Price's  skill  as  a  phy- 
sician, especially  in  performing  operations  for 
cataract,  and  the  doctor  was  invited — indeed,  sum- 
moned— to  appear  at  the  royal  court  at  Ava. 

"  Here  is  our  chance,"  said  Judson,  undismayed 
by  his  former  experiences  at  Ava.  "  I'll  try  again, 
and  perhaps  we  may  even  be  permitted  to  start  a 
mission  in  the  royal  city." 

This  time  his  patience  and  courage  were  re- 
warded. Judson  and  Price  were  received  with 
royal  favor,  and  princes  and  princesses  and  per- 
sons of  rank  inquired  of  Judson  about  the  new 
religion ;  and  finally  the  emperor  gave  him  a  piece 
of  land,  and  told  him  he  could  build  a  house 
there ;  which  he  did  before  returning  to  Rangoon. 

Thus  the  way  was  opened  for  establishing  a 
mission  at  Ava,  and  Judson  thought  that  he  ought 
to  enter  the  open  door,  not  knowing  the  house  of 
sorrow  into  which  it  would  lead  him.  Indeed, 
Judson  always  looked  upon  afflictions  as  a  part 
of  the  day's  work,  especially  of  a  pioneer. 

All  he  waited  for  now  was  Ann's  return.     She 


TRAVELING   ON    ELEPHANTS 


HOW    SOME   PRESENT-DAY    MISSIONARIES   TRAVEL 


ENTERING   THE   GOLDEN    CITY  117 

arrived  at  Rangoon  December  5,  1823,  and  with 
her  were  two  new  missionaries,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wade.  Eight  days  later,  December  13,  1823,  the, 
Judsons  set  out  for  Ava,  leaving  the  little  Chris- 
tian band  at  Rangoon,  now  increased  to  eighteen 
members,  to  be  cared  for  by  the  new  missionaries 
and  Mr.  Hough. 

At  first  the  prospects  looked  favorable.  They 
had  been  invited  to  live  in  the  royal  city  by  the 
king  himself;  Doctor  Price  had  won  golden 
opinions  by  his  medical  skill;  they  had  a  cosy 
dwelling-house ;  Mr.  Judson  was  preaching,  while 
Mrs.  Judson  started  a  little  school  for  girls.  Soon 
after  their  arrival  they  were  invited  to  a  magnifi- 
cent festival,  when  the  king  entered  the  Golden 
City  in  glorious  estate,  to  take  possession  of  a 
splendid  new  palace.  All  the  viceroys  and  other 
high  officials  were  assembled,  dressed  in  their 
robes  of  state.  The  white  elephant,  richly 
adorned  with  gold  and  jewels,  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  objects  in  the  procession.  All  the 
riches  and  glory  of  the  empire  were  on  this  day 
exhibited  to  view;  multitudes  of  horses,  hordes 
of  elephants  of  immense  size,  and  vehicles  of  all 
descriptions.  The  king  and  queen  alone  were  un- 
adorned, dressed  in  the  simple  garb  of  the  coun- 


Il8  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

try.  Hand  in  hand  they  entered  the  garden  where 
the  guests  were  seated,  and  where  the  royal  ban- 
quet was  prepared. 

Into  these  happy  scenes,  on  May  23,  1824,  came 
the  startling  news  that  Rangoon  had  been  taken 
by  the  British.    England  and  Burma  were  at  war ! 


XI 

WITH  SPOTTED  FACE  AND  TIGER  CAT 

WHY  had  the  English  army  come  to  Ran- 
goon? 

This  was  the  answer,  as  the  Burman  Govern- 
ment decided:  The  Englishmen  living  in  Ava 
were  spies,  and  they  had  induced  their  country- 
men to  invade  Burma.  The  three  prominent  Eng- 
lishmen in  Ava,  Gouger,  Laird,  and  Rogers,  were 
put  in  confinement,  and  the  Americans,  Judson 
and  Price,  were  summoned  to  a  court  of  exami- 
nation. The  accounts  of  Mr.  Gouger  showed  that 
he  had  paid  considerable  sums  of  money  to  the 
missionaries.  This  was  simply  the  cashing  of 
orders  for  the  support  of  the  mission,  but  the  Bur- 
mans  considered  it  sufficient  evidence  that  Judson 
and  Price  were  in  the  pay  of  the  British,  and 
therefore  spies,  and  the  command  went  forth 
from  the  king, 

"  Arrest  the  two  teachers !  " 

The  little  home  of  the  Judsons  was  in  a  delight- 
ful situation,  on  the  bank  of  the  Irawadi,  away 

119 


120  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

from  the  dust  of  the  city.  Just  as  the  happy 
family  were  preparing  for  dinner  on  the  eighth 
of  June,  1824,  there  was  a  sudden  commotion  on 
the  veranda,  and  in  rushed  a  dozen  Burmans. 
Their  leader  held  a  black  book  in  his  hand,  and 
with  them  was  a  Man  with  a  Spotted  Face,  which 
marked  him  as  the  executioner  at  the  prison. 

"  Where  is  the  teacher?  "  demanded  the  leader. 

Mr.  Judson  stepped  forward. 

"  You  are  called  by  the  king,"  said  the  officer. 

This  was  the  signal  to  the  Man  with  the  Spotted 
Face.  He  instantly  seized  Mr.  Judson,  threw  him 
on  the  floor,  and  produced  the  small,  hard  cord, 
one  of  the  most  cruel  instruments  of  torture  ever 
invented.  It  was  fastened  around  the  two  arms 
above  the  elbows,  and  could  be  drawn  so  tight  as 
to  stop  the  breath. 

Spotted  Face  began  to  tighten  this  cord  around 
his  victim,  when  Ann  Judson  caught  his  arm : 

"  Stay,  stay !  "  she  pleaded  with  him,  "  and  I 
will  give  you  money." 

"  Take  her  too;  she  also  is  a  foreigner,"  com- 
manded the  leader. 

"  No,  no,"  begged  Mr.  Judson,  "  you  have  no 
orders  to  take  her." 

A  great  crowd  had  now  gathered  around  the 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE   AND    TIGER    CAT       121 

house,  a  fine  opportunity  for  Spotted  Face  to  dis- 
play his  skill.  With  a  kind  of  hellish  joy  he  drew 
tight  the  cords  and  bound  Mr.  Judson  fast.  Mrs. 
Judson  begged  and  entreated  Spotted  Face  to  take 
the  silver  and  loosen  the  cord,  but  in  vain.  She 
gave  the  money  to  Moung  Ing,  the  convert  who 
stood  by  her  through  all  the  afflictions  of  this  ter- 
rible time,  and  he  followed  when  Mr.  Judson  was 
dragged  away,  to  see  if  he  could  induce  Spotted 
Face  to  lighten  the  torture.  But  the  wretches  only 
threw  their  prisoner  to  the  ground  again,  and 
drew  the  cords  so  close  that  he  could  hardly 
breathe. 

Thus  Mr.  Judson  was  hurried  away  to  the 
death-prison  at  Ava,  and  with  him  as  fellow 
prisoners  were  Doctor  Price,  the  three  English 
gentlemen,  Gouger,  Laird,  and  Rogers,  and  some 
others,  besides  the  scores  of  Burman  prisoners  of 
all  ranks  and  classes. 

The  prison  had  a  name,  let-ma-yoon,  derived 
from  the  revolting  scenes  of  cruelty  that  were 
practised  in  it.  Its  meaning  is,  "  Hand,  shrink 
not."  It  was  a  ramshackle  building  about  forty 
feet  long,  in  a  stockaded  enclosure.  The  security 
of  the  prisoners  depended  not  on  the  walls  of  the 
building,  but  on  fetters  and  stocks.     Three  pairs 


122  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

of  fetters  were  placed  on  Mr.  Judson  s  ankles 
and  legs,  and  the  scars  they  made  he  wore  to  his 
dying  day.  In  each  pair  of  fetters  the  two  iron 
rings  were  connected  by  a  chain  so  short  that  the 
heel  of  one  foot  could  hardly  be  advanced  to  the 
toe  of  the  other.  They  were  fastened  on  by  the 
head  jailer,  "  The  Tiger  Cat,"  the  prisoners 
called  him,  who  seemed  to  be  possessed  by  a  very 
demon  of  cruelty.  He  made  an  amusement  of  his 
worst  cruelties,  bringing  down  his  hammer  with 
a  jest  when  fastening  fetters,  putting  his  hated 
arms  affectionately  around  the  prisoners,  and  call- 
ing them  his  beloved  children,  to  get  a  better  op- 
portunity to  prick  or  pinch  them,  and  studying 
torture  as  the  most  comical  of  arts.  He  was  the 
most  hideous  of  creatures,  branded  in  his  breast 
loo-that;  that  is,  "  murderer  " ! 

When  night  came  on,  the  Tiger  Cat,  or  Father 
of  the  Prison,  devised  a  new  means  of  torture. 
A  bamboo  pole  was  thrust  through  the  fetters  of 
Judson  and  of  his  fellow  prisoners,  seven  in  all, 
and  a  man  at  each  end  hoisted  up  the  pole  by 
blocks  till  the  shoulders  of  the  prisoners  rested 
on  the  ground,  while  their  feet  hung  in  the  iron 
rings  of  the  fetters,  so  that  they  were  in  ex- 
cruciating pain  all  night  long.     In  the  morning 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE   AND    TIGER    CAT       123 

the  "  Father  "  came  along,  and  with  his  customary 
grin  lowered  the  bamboo  to  within  a  foot  of  the 
floor. 

Besides  these  physical  sufferings,  there  was  the 
daily  mental  torture  which  the  prisoners  suffered 
from  the  uncertainty  of  their  fate.  All  sorts  of 
reports  were  whispered  through  the  prison  in 
regard  to  the  English  and  American  prisoners; 
that  they  were  to  be  thrown  into  a  lion's  cage; 
that  they  were  to  be  burned ;  that  they  were  to  be 
buried  alive  at  the  head  of  the  Burman  army  to 
insure  its  victory  over  the  English.  Every  after- 
noon, at  three  o'clock,  they  faced  the  possibility  of 
being  led  away  to  execution.  "  As  that  hour  ap- 
proached," as  Mr.  Gouger  afterward  described 
those  days,  "  we  noticed  that  the  talking  and  jest- 
ing in  the  prison  gradually  died  away.  It  seemed 
as  though  even  breathing  were  suspended  under 
the  control  of  a  panic  terror,  until  that  fatal  hour 
was  announced  by  the  deep  tones  of  a  powerful 
gong  in  the  palace  yard.  We  did  not  long  remain 
in  ignorance  of  the  cause.  If  any  of  the  prisoners 
were  to  suffer  death  that  day,  the  hour  of  three 
was  the  time  when  they  were  taken  out  for  execu- 
tion. The  wicket  opened,  and  the  hideous  figure 
of  Spotted  Face  appeared,  who,  without  uttering 


124  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

a  word,  walked  straight  to  his  victim,  and  led 
him  away." 

Added  to  all  this  was  the  horrible  filthiness  of 
the  prison.  Mr.  Judson  was  painfully  sensitive 
to  anything  gross  or  uncleanly.  "  It  amounted 
almost  to  folly,"  said  one  of  his  fellow  prisoners, 
"  and  made  his  life  a  constant  martyrdom." 

And  yet  amid  all  these  sufferings,  surrounded 
by  loathsome  conditions  against  which  every  fiber 
of  his  soul  and  body  revolted,  the  pioneer  refused 
to  accept  the  idea  of  failure.  "  Think  what  the 
consequences  of  this  English  invasion  must  be," 
he  said  to  one  of  his  fellow  captives.  "  Here  have 
I  been  ten  years  preaching  the  gospel  to  timid 
listeners  who  wished  to  embrace  the  truth,  but 
dared  not ;  beseeching  the  emperor  to  grant  liberty 
of  conscience  to  his  people,  but  without  success; 
and  now,  when  all  human  means  seemed  at  an 
end,  God  opens  the  way  by  leading  a  Christian 
nation  to  subdue  the  country.  It  is  possible  that 
my  life  may  be  spared;  if  so,  with  what  ardor 
and  gratitude  shall  I  pursue  my  work;  and  if  not, 
his  will  be  done;  the  door  will  be  opened  for 
others  who  will  do  the  work  better." 

Outside  the  horrible  let-ma-yoon  the  prisoners 
had  one  friend  who  never  for  one  moment  ceased 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE    AND    TIGER    CAT      125 

to  strive  for  the  relief  of  their  sufferings.  The 
story  of  their  captivity  is  also  the  story  of  the 
splendid,  unfading  heroism  of  Ann  Judson. 

When  the  faithful  Moung  Ing  returned  to  re- 
port that  his  beloved  teacher  was  cast  into  prison, 
it  was  near  nightfall.  Ann  Judson  went  to  her 
room,  and  kneeling  there  she  committed  her  case 
to  God,  and  sought  for  courage  and  strength  to 
suffer  what  awaited  her.  Into  these  petitions 
broke  a  rough  voice  of  command  from  the 
veranda,  calling: 

"  Come  out !  Come  out  here,  and  submit  to  my 
examination !  " 

It  was  the  magistrate  of  the  place.  Mrs.  Jud- 
son knew  that  she  would  have  to  go,  but  before 
she  went  she  destroyed  all  her  letters,  journals, 
and  writings  of  every  kind,  for  they  would  show 
that  the  missionaries  had  correspondents  in  Eng- 
land, and  had  kept  a  diary  of  everything  that  had 
happened  since  their  arrival  in  Burma. 

After  closely  questioning  her,  the  magistrate 
ordered  the  gates  of  the  compound  to  be  shut,  and 
left  a  guard  of  ten  ruffians  to  see  that  she  did  not 
escape.  Ann  took  her  four  little  Burman  girls, 
retired  to  an  inner  room,  and  barred  the  doors. 
The  guards  instantly  shouted: 


126  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

"  Unbar  the  doors  and  come  out,  or  we  will 
break  the  house  down!  " 

This  Mrs.  Judson  obstinately  refused  to  do. 
Then  the  guard  tried  a  new  refinement  of  cruelty 
to  bring  her  to  terms.  They  took  her  two  Benga- 
lee servants  and  began  to  torture  them.  She 
could  not  endure  this,  so  she  called  the  head  man 
to  the  window,  and  promised  to  make  them  all  a 
present  in  the  morning  if  they  would  release  the 
servants,  and  after  much  debate  they  consented. 

The  next  morning  she  sent  Moung  Ing  to  see 
if  he  could  find  out  how  it  fared  with  her  husband, 
and  to  give  him  food  if  he  was  still  living.  He 
returned  to  tell  the  story  of  the  death-prison  and 
the  fetters. 

"  The  point  of  my  anguish  now  was,"  Mrs. 
Judson  wrote  afterward,  "  that  I  was  a  prisoner 
myself,  and  could  make  no  efforts  for  the  release 
of  the  missionaries." 

But  she  did  make  efforts,  in  spite  of  her  an- 
guish, in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  was  a  prisoner. 
She  begged  and  entreated  the  magistrate  to  let 
her  go  to  some  member  of  the  government  to 
state  her  case. 

"  I  dare  not  let  you  go,"  he  said,  "  for  fear  you 
will  escape." 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE   AND    TIGER    CAT       1 27 

Then  she  wrote  a  note  to  the  queen's  sister, 
who  had  been  very  friendly,  asking  her  to  help 
secure  the  release  of  the  teachers.  The  note  was 
returned  with  the  message,  "  I  do  not  understand 
it."  In  reality  the  princess  would  have  been  glad 
to  help,  but  feared  the  queen. 

On  the  third  day  Ann  sent  a  note  to  the 
governor  of  the  city,  who  had  the  direction  of  the 
prison  affairs,  asking  to  be  allowed  to  visit  him 
with  a  present. 

That  had  the  desired  effect.  The  governor  re- 
ceived her  pleasantly,  and  heard  her  story.  He 
told  her  that  he  could  not  release  the  missionaries 
from  prison  or  from  irons,  but  that  he  could  make 
their  situation  more  comfortable.  "  There  is  my 
head  officer,"  he  said ;  "  you  must  consult  with 
him  about  the  means." 

Ann  looked  at  the  man.  "  His  countenance," 
she  described  him,  "  presented  the  most  perfect 
assemblage  of  all  the  evil  passions  of  human 
nature."  This  fine  specimen  of  manliness  took 
Mrs.  Judson  aside,  and  endeavored  to  convince 
her  that  she  herself,  as  well  as  the  prisoners,  was 
entirely  at  his  disposal ;  that  their  future  comfort 
must  depend  on  her  liberality  in  regard  to  pres- 
ents; and  that  these  must  be  made  in  a  private 


128  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

way,  and  unknown  to  any  officer  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

She  wasted  no  time  in  indignant  protest,  but 
went  straight  to  the  point : 

"  What  must  I  do  to  obtain  a  mitigation  of  the 
present  sufferings  of  the  two  teachers  ?  " 

"  Pay  to  me  two  hundred  ticals  (about  $100), 
two  pieces  of  fine  cloth,  and  two  pieces  of  hand- 
kerchiefs." 

This  was  about  what  Mrs.  Judson  expected,  and 
she  had  some  money  with  her. 

"  Here  are  two  hundred  ticals,"  she  said,  "  but 
the  other  articles  are  not  in  my  possession." 

The  prince  of  grafters  hesitated  for  some  time ; 
but  fearing  to  lose  so  much  money,  he  concluded 
to  take  it,  and  promised  to  relieve  the  teachers 
from  their  most  painful  situation. 

Then  she  returned  to  the  governor  and  secured 
a  pass  to  enter  the  prison.  She  never  had  the 
heart  to  describe  that  first  meeting  with  her  hus- 
band in  prison ;  but  Mr.  Gouger,  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish prisoners  told  about  it.  "  At  the  moment  of 
their  interview  outside  the  wicket  door,  I  had 
to  hobble  to  the  spot  to  receive  my  daily  bun- 
dle of  provisions,  and  the  heartrending  scene 
which  I  there  beheld  was  one  which  it  is  impossi- 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE    AND    TIGER    CAT      I2g 

ble  to  forget.  Poor  Judson  was  fastidiously  neat 
in  person  and  apparel,  but  two  nights  of  restless 
torture  of  body  and  anxiety  of  mind  had  imparted 
to  his  countenance  a  haggard  and  deathlike  ex- 
pression, while  it  would  be  hardly  decent  to  advert 
in  more  than  general  terms  to  his  begrimed  and 
impure  exterior.  No  wonder  his  wife,  shocked  at 
the  change,  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  over- 
whelmed with  grief." 

Mr.  Judson  crawled  to  the  door  of  the  prison 
and  tried  to  talk  with  his  wife  about  arrangements 
for  his  release.  But  the  iron-hearted  jailers  could 
not  endure  to  see  them  enjoy  so  great  consolation, 
and  they  ordered  Mrs.  Judson  to  leave. 

"  But  see,"  she  protested,  "  here  is  the  order 
from  the  governor  for  my  admittance." 

"  Depart,"  they  harshly  repeated,  "  or  we  will 
pull  you  out!  " 

But  that  same  evening  the  missionaries,  to- 
gether with  the  other  foreigners,  who  also  paid 
two  hundred  ticals,  were  taken  out  of  the  common 
prison  and  confined  in  an  open  shed  in  the  prison 
enclosure.  Mrs.  Judson  was  allowed  to  send 
them  food  and  mats  to  sleep  on,  but  was  not  per- 
mitted to  enter  again  for  several  days. 

Next,  Ann  tried  to  get  a  petition  presented  to 
i 


I3O  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

the  queen.  But  no  person  in  disgrace  with  the 
king  could  enter  the  palace,  so  she  tried  to  get  it 
presented  through  the  help  of  the  wife  of  the 
queen's  brother.  She  took  with  her,  of  course,  a 
present  of  considerable  value.  She  found  the  lady 
lolling  on  the  carpet,  with  her  attendants  around 
her. 

Careful,  careful,  Ann  Judson;  remember  that 
your  husband  is  in  prison,  and  you  are  in  distress ; 
you  must  be  very  humble,  and  prepared  for  a  cold 
reception.  But  the  intrepid  woman  waited  not  to 
receive  the  usual  question  to  a  suppliant,  "  What 
do  you  want?"  but  in  a  bold,  earnest,  yet  re- 
spectful manner  stated  her  distress  and  asked  for 
the  lady's  assistance. 

She  partly  raised  her  head,  opened  the  present, 
and  coolly  replied : 

"  Your  case  is  not  singular;  all  foreigners  are 
treated  alike." 

"  But  it  is  singular,"  Ann  protested ;  "  we  are 
Americans;  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  war  or 
politics,  and  came  to  Ava  at  the  king's  command." 

"  But  what  can  I  do — I  am  not  the  king?  " 

"  You  can  state  the  case  to  the  queen,  and  thus 
obtain  their  release."  Then  Ann  went  straight 
for  the  woman's  heart.     "  Put  yourself  in  my 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE   AND    TIGER    CAT      I3I 

place;  if  you  were  alone  in  America,  your  hus- 
band in  prison,  in  irons,  what  would  you  do  ?  " 

Then  said  the  princess,  "  I  will  present  your 
petition;  come  again  to-morrow." 

But  the  next  day  Mrs.  Judson  had  enough  to  do 
to  prepare  for  another  trial.  She  was  politely 
informed,  "  The  officers  will  visit  your  house  to- 
morrow." That  meant  confiscation  of  everything 
valuable,  and  she  spent  the  time  in  secreting  as 
many  little  articles  as  possible,  together  with  con- 
siderable silver  money.  She  knew  that  if  it  was 
discovered  she  might  be  imprisoned,  but  she  knew 
of  no  other  way  to  procure  money  if  the  war 
should  be  prolonged. 

Three  officials  came,  with  forty  or  fifty  follow- 
ers. They  were  very  considerate;  only  the  of- 
ficers and  one  secretary  entered  the  house.  "  Very 
painful  to  us,  you  know,  but  it  is  the  king's  order. 
Where  are  your  silver,  gold,  and  jewels?  " 

"  I  have  no  gold  and  jewels ;  but  here  is  the  key 
to  the  trunk  which  contains  the  silver.  This 
money  was  sent  to  build  a  mission  house  and  for 
our  support  while  teaching  the  religion  of  Christ, 
is  it  suitable  for  you  to  take  it?  " 

"  H'm,  we  will  state  the  case  to  the  king.  But 
is  this  all  the  silver  you  have?  " 


I32  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Now  Ann  Judson  could  suffer  all  things,  but 
she  could  not  tell  a  lie.  "  The  house  is  in  your 
possession,"  she  replied;  "  search  for  yourselves." 

But  they  did  not  find  it,  and  they  also  left  un- 
touched some  clothing,  a  work-table  and  a  rock- 
ing-chair, "  presents  from  my  beloved  brother," 
Ann  calls  them.  The  officers  who  took  the  prop- 
erty reported  to  the  king,  "  Judson  is  a  true 
teacher ;  we  found  nothing  at  his  house  but  what 
belongs  to  priests." 

When  this  trying  scene  was  over,  Mrs.  Judson 
hastened  to  the  queen's  brother's  wife  to  find  what 
had  been  the  fate  of  her  petition.  All  her  hopes 
were  dashed  to  the  ground.  "  I  stated  your  case 
to  the  queen,"  the  lady  coolly  said,  "  and  her 
majesty  replied,  '  The  teachers  will  not  die;  let 
them  remain  as  they  arc.'  " 

Heavy-hearted,  she  started  homeward.  On  her 
way  she  attempted  to  visit  the  prison,  but  was 
harshly  refused  admittance.  Then  she  attempted 
to  communicate  by  writing,  but  it  was  soon  dis- 
covered, and  the  messenger  beaten  and  put  in  the 
stocks. 

For  months  Mrs.  Judson  was  harassed  by  the 
insatiable  desire  of  the  officials  to  enrich  them- 
selves through  the  misfortune  of  the  missionaries. 


WITH    SPOTTED    FACE   AND    TIGER    CAT      1 33 

"  How  much  did  you  give  the  governor  and 
prison  officers  to  release  the  teachers  from  the  in- 
ner prison?  "  the  confiscation  officers  asked  her. 

She  honestly  told  them,  and  they  demanded  it 
from  the  governor.  He  went  into  a  dreadful  rage, 
and  threatened  to  put  all  the  prisoners  back  into 
the  inner  prison.  Mrs.  Judson  went  to  him  the 
next  morning,  and  he  broke  out  at  her : 

"  You  are  very  bad ;  why  did  you  tell  the  royal 
treasurer  you  had  given  me  so  much  money?  " 

"  The  treasurer  inquired;  what  could  I  say?  " 

"  Say  that  you  had  given  nothing,  and  I  would 
have  made  the  teachers  comfortable." 

"  But  I  cannot  tell  a  falsehood.  If  you  had 
stood  by  me  with  your  knife  raised  I  could  not 
have  said  what  you  suggest." 

Thus  the  months  went  on,  with  continual  ex- 
tortions and  oppressions.  For  seven  months 
hardly  a  day  passed  that  Mrs.  Judson  did  not 
visit  some  member  of  government  or  of  the  royal 
family,  and  she  made  a  number  of  friends  who 
were  ready  to  assist  her  with  food  and  in  other 
ways,  but  no  one  dared  to  speak  a  word  in  favor 
of  the  release  of  the  prisoners  while  there  were 
such  continual  reports  of  the  success  of  the  Eng- 
lish army.    At  one  time  there  was  a  leader  named 


134  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Bancloola  in  great  favor  at  Ava,  and  with  fear 
and  trembling  Ann  approached  him  with  a  peti- 
tion. He  responded  obligingly,  and  bade  her 
come  again.  She  ran  to  the  prison  with  this  good 
news;  but  the  next  day  Bandoola  replied,  by  his 
wife,  that  when  he  had  retaken  Rangoon  and  ex- 
pelled the  English  he  would  release  the  prisoners. 
So  again  their  hopes  were  dashed. 

Meanwhile,  Mrs.  Judson  had  been  permitted  to 
make  a  little  bamboo  room  in  the  prison  enclosure, 
where  Mr.  Judson  could  be  much  by  himself,  and 
where  she  was  sometimes  allowed  to  spend  two  or 
three  hours  with  him.  Every  day  she  brought  or 
sent  him  food;  once  she  even  managed  to  make 
something  from  buffalo  meat  and  plantain  that 
might  be  called  a  mince  pie,  and  sent  it  by  smi- 
ling Moung  Ing.  But  Judson  was  so  overcome  by 
this  reminiscence  of  an  old-time  New  England 
Thanksgiving  that  he  could  only  bury  his  face  in 
his  hands  and  weep,  and  he  gave  the  pie  to  a 
fellow  prisoner. 

In  the  latter  part  of  these  months  of  trials, 
January  26,  1825,  a  baby  girl,  Maria  Elizabeth, 
was  born  to  the  Judsons,  and  for  several  weeks 
Mrs.  Judson  was  unable  to  visit  the  prison. 
When  the  little  Maria  was  about  two  months  old, 


WITH    SPOTTED   FACE   AND   TIGER   CAT      1 35 

Mr.  Judson  sent  word  one  morning  that  he  and 
all  the  other  white  prisoners  were  thrust  back  into 
the  inner  prison,  in  five  pairs  of  fetters  each ;  that 
his  mat,  pillow,  and  other  belongings  had  been 
taken  by  the  jailers. 

Ann  went  immediately  to  the  governor's  house. 
He  was  not  at  home,  but  had  ordered  his  wife 
to  tell  her  not  to  ask  to  have  the  fetters  taken  off 
nor  to  have  the  prisoners  released,  for  it  could 
not  be  done.  She  went  to  the  prison,  but  was 
forbidden  to  enter.  She  was  determined  to  see 
the  governor,  and  returned  to  his  house  that 
same  evening,  a  familiar  figure  now  in  Ava,  and 
one  that  always  commanded  attention  and  re- 
spect. Long  ago  she  had  adopted  the  Burmese 
style  of  dress,  as  the  governor's  wife  had  told  her 
it  would  make  the  people  more  friendly,  and  had 
presented  her  costume  to  her.  Her  dark  curls 
were  carefully  straightened,  a  fragrant  cocoa- 
blossom  drooping  like  a  white  plume  from  the 
knot  upon  the  crown;  her  saffron  vest  thrown 
open  to  display  the  folds  of  crimson  beneath ;  and 
a  rich  silken  skirt  wrapped  closely  around  her  fine 
figure,  sloping  back  upon  the  floor.  So  she  ap- 
peared to  comfort  her  husband  at  the  prison;  so 
she  stood  again  before  the  governor  of  Ava. 


I36  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

"  Your  lordship  has  hitherto  treated  us  with 
the  kindness  of  a  father,"  she  said;  "  our  obliga- 
tions to  you  are  very  great.  What  crime  has  Mr. 
Judson  committed  to  deserve  such  additional 
punishment?  " 

As  the  old  man  looked  at  the  beautiful  petitioner, 
pleading  for  one  that  she  loved  better  than  life 
itself,  his  heart  was  melted,  and  he  wept  like  a 
child. 

"  Tsa-yah-ga-du,"  he  began,  a  name  by  which 
he  always  called  her,  "  you  must  believe  me  when 
I  say  that  I  do  not  wish  to  increase  the  sufferings 
of  the  prisoners.  I  will  now  tell  you  that  three 
times  I  have  received  intimations  to  assassinate 
all  the  white  prisoners  privately ;  but  I  would  not 
do  it.  And  I  repeat  it,  though  I  execute  all  the 
others,  I  will  never  execute  your  husband.  But 
I  cannot  release  him  from  confinement,  you  must 
not  ask  it." 

The  condition  of  the  prisoners  was  now  worse 
than  ever,  shut  out  from  every  breath  of  fresh 
air.  Once  a  whisper  passed  through  the  prison 
that  at  three  in  the  morning  the  foreigners  would 
be  led  away  to  execution.  As  the  fatal  hour  drew 
nigh,  they  waited  with  deep  solemnity,  and  prayed 
together,   Mr.   Judson's   voice   for   all   of  them. 


WITH    SPOTTED   FACE   AND   TIGER   CAT      1 37 

And  still  they  waited  in  awful  expectancy.  The 
hour  passed — they  felt  that  it  must  have  passed, 
though  they  had  no  means  of  telling  the  exact 
time.  And  so  hoping,  doubting,  fearing,  they 
waited  on  till  the  morning  dawned  and  the  Tiger 
Cat  came  in,  kicking  the  bamboo  till  the  chains 
rattled,  and  the  five  rows  of  fetters  dashed  to- 
gether and  sharply  pinched  the  flesh,  while  he 
mocked  and  chucked  them  under  the  chin  in  cruel 
jest. 

Then  Mr.  Judson  was  taken  with  a  fever.  He 
surely  could  not  live  long  in  that  filthy  place,  and 
Mrs.  Judson  besought  the  governor  again  and 
again,  until  at  last  he  gave  her  an  official  order 
to  take  her  husband  from  the  inner  prison,  and 
to  visit  him  when  she  chose. 

But  where  should  she  put  him  ? 

Just  before  this  there  had  been  a  strange  addi- 
tion to  the  number  of  the  prisoners.  It  was  a  mag- 
nificent lion,  formerly  a  great  favorite  of  the 
king.  But  as  the  war  progressed,  it  was  whis- 
pered that  the  English  bore  a  lion  on  their  stand- 
ard, and  that  the  king's  lion  was  the  mysterious 
cause  of  the  Burman  defeats.  So  the  noble  beast 
was  put  into  the  prison  enclosure,  confined  in  a 
bamboo  cage,  ironed  and  barricaded.    The  queen's 


I38  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

brother  gave  secret  directions  that  the  lion  should 
not  be  fed.  Day  after  day  the  prisoners  were 
compelled  to  watch  the  sufferings  of  the  powerful 
beast,  until  at  last  starvation  conquered. 

When  Mrs.  Judson  came  to  minister  to  her 
husband's  sufferings  he  told  her  of  this  empty 
lion  cage,  and  begged  her  to  take  him  there.  The 
Tiger  Cat  would  not  hear  of  such  luxury ;  but  the 
governor  would,  when  Tsa-yah-ga-du  pleaded, 
and  in  the  lion's  cage  she  tended  him  and  brought 
him  medicine  and  food.1 

One  morning,  May  2,  1825,  when  she  was  with 
her  husband,  the  governor  sent  for  her  in  great 
haste.  But  for  once  the  old  man  seemed  at  a 
loss  for  something  to  say,  "  I — I  only  wanted  to 
consult  you  about  my  watch,"  he  stammered,  and 
seemed  anxious  to  detain  her  in  conversation. 

It  was  simply  a  ruse  to  hold  her  there  while  a 
terrible  scene  was  going  on  at  the  prison.  When 
she  left  to  go  to  her  room  one  of  the  servants 
came  running,  with  a  ghastly  countenance,  de- 
claring that  all  the  white  prisoners  were  carried 
away  from  Ava. 


1  In  the  office  of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  in 
Boston,  is  a  gavel  for  the  use  of  the  president  of  the  society.  Its 
handle  is  made  of  a  piece  of  this  lion's  cage. 


XII 

ANN  JUDSON'S  REVENGE 

AT  first  Mrs.  Judson  could  not  believe  that 
the  prisoners  had  been  taken  away.  She 
hurried  back  to  the  governor,  and  he  admitted 
that  the  report  was  true,  but  he  had  not  the  heart 
to  tell  her. 

But  where  had  they  been  taken  ? 

"To  the  little  river,"  said  an  old  woman;  "I 
saw  them  go." 

"  To  the  place  of  execution,"  said  another. 

But  no  trace  could  be  found,  and  Tsa-yah-ga-du 
went  back  to  the  governor  once  more. 

"  They  have  been  taken  to  Amarapura,"  he 
told  her,  "  but  for  what  purpose  I  know  not." 
And  he  added  in  a  friendly  warning : 

"  Take  care  of  yourself." 

That  day  Mrs.  Judson  sank  down  almost  in 
despair — but  not  quite.  Toward  night  she  came 
to  the  determination  to  set  off  the  next  morning 
for  Amarapura.  She  took  two  or  three  trunks  of 
the  most  valuable  articles  to  the  governor's  house. 

139 


140  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

and  left  her  own  home  in  charge  of  the  faithful 
Moung  Ing  and  a  Bengali  servant. 

The  next  morning  she  secured  a  pass  from  the 
government,  and  taking  the  little  Maria,  then 
only  three  months  old,  two  of  the  Burman  chil- 
dren, and  her  Bengali  cook,  she  started  for 
Amarapura.  The  day  was  dreadfully  hot,  but 
she  obtained  a  covered  boat  for  the  few  miles 
that  she  had  to  travel  by  river,  which  took  her 
within  two  miles  of  the  government  house.  Then 
she  had  to  take  an  old-style  Burman  cart,  one  of 
those  instruments  of  torture  whose  wheels  are 
simply  round  thick  planks,  through  which  an 
axle  is  thrust  to  support  the  cart  body.  There 
were  no  springs. 

At  Amarapura  she  found  that  the  prisoners  had 
been  sent  on  to  a  little  village  four  miles  away. 
The  cartman  refused  to  go  farther,  and  after 
waiting  an  hour  in  the  broiling  sun  she  procured 
another,  and  set  off  for  what  she  called  "  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  place,  Aungbinle."  Arriv- 
ing there,  she  was  conducted  to  an  old,  tumble- 
down prison,  and  under  a  low  projection  outside 
sat  the  foreigners,  chained  together,  two  and  two, 
almost  dead  with  sufferings  and  fatigue. 

"Oh,    why   have   you   come?"    her   husband 


ANN    JUDSON'S    REVENGE  I4I 

greeted  her ;  "  I  hoped  you  would  not  follow,  for 
you  cannot  live  here." 

It  was  now  dark,  and  the  only  shelter  Mrs. 
Judson  could  find  was  a  small  room  half-full  of 
grain  in  the  house  of  one  of  the  jailers,  and  in 
that  filthy  place  she  spent  the  six  months  of 
wretchedness  that  followed. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Judson  told  her  how 
the  prisoners  had  been  brought  from  Ava  on  that 
awful  trail  to  Aungbinle.  The  jailers  rushed  in, 
seized  him,  stripped  him  of  most  of  his  clothing, 
tore  off  his  chains,  tied  a  rope  around  his  waist, 
and  dragged  him  to  the  court-house.  The  other 
prisoners  were  already  there.  They  were  roped 
two  by  two,  and  delivered  to  an  officer,  who  went 
before  on  horseback,  while  his  slaves  drove  the 
prisoners.  The  heat  was  terrific.  In  a  short  time 
Mr.  Judson's  feet  became  blistered,  and  when  they 
crossed  a  little  river,  nothing  but  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  sin  of  such  an  act  kept  him  from  throw- 
ing himself  into  the  water  to  end  his  misery. 

Moreover,  he  was  so  weak  from  the  fever  that 
he  could  hardly  walk.  He  begged  the  officer  to  let 
him  ride,  but  a  scornful  look  was  the  only  reply. 
Captain  Laird  supported  Mr.  Judson  for  a  time, 
and  then  Mr.  Gouger's  Bengali  servant  came  up. 


142  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

He  took  off  his  long-  head  cloth,  tore  it  in  two, 
and  gave  half  of  it  to  his  master  and  half  to  Mr. 
Judson,  who  instantly  wrapped  it  around  his  bleed- 
ing feet.  The  rest  of  the  way  to  Amaraptira  the 
Bengali  almost  carried  Mr.  Judson,  and  so  no 
doubt  saved  his  life.  One  of  the  prisoners  died 
after  reaching  Amarapura.  There  they  spent  the 
night  in  an  old  shed,  and  the  next  day  were 
brought  in  carts  to  Aungbinle.  At  Aungbinle  the 
feet  of  the  prisoners  were  made  fast  in  the  stocks, 
which  were  so  arranged  that  they  could  be  raised 
or  lowered  by  means  of  a  crank  outside.  And  all 
through  the  night  the  stocks  were  raised  and 
lowered  to  torture  the  prisoners,  which  was  the 
jailer's  idea  of  fun. 

One  serious  problem  at  Aungbinle  was  the 
problem  of  food.  There  was  no  market  there, 
and  they  suffered  often  from  want  of  provisions, 
though  not  from  want  of  money.  For  Mrs.  Jud- 
son had  secreted  about  her  person  all  the  money 
she  could  command  in  the  world,  and  notwith- 
standing the  extortions  of  the  jailers  it  lasted  till 
they  were  released  from  Aungbinle. 

The  next  brief  portion  of  the  story  of  the  pio- 
neers is  almost  too  harrowing  to  relate.  But 
they  endured  such  things,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the 


CHAPEL  ON   THE  SITE  OF  THE  AUNGBINLE  PRISON 


THE   JUDSON    MEMORIAL   CHURCH    AT   MANDALAY 


ANN    JUDSON  S    REVENGE  I43 

author  and  the  finisher  of  their  faith,  and  they 
must  be  told  that  we  may  honor  them  who 
counted  not  life  dear  unto  themselves  that  they 
might  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

Mr.  Judson's  health  was  gradually  restored, 
and  he  was  much  more  comfortably  situated  at 
Aungbinle  than  he  had  been  at  Ava ;  but  what  he 
suffered  in  anguish  of  heart  can  never  be  told. 
For  it  was  now  that  the  bodily  sufferings  of  Mrs. 
Judson  were  the  most  dreadful.  On  the  morning 
after  her  arrival  at  Aungbinle  one  of  the  little 
Burman  girls  was  taken  ill  with  the  smallpox,  and 
soon  the  other  Burman  girl,  and  Mrs.  Judson  and 
the  little  Maria  were  all  sick  with  the  same  dis- 
ease, though  Mrs.  Judson  had  it  but  lightly.  Yet 
she  had  the  care  of  the  other  sick  ones,  and  be- 
cause the  jailer's  children,  whom  she  inoculated, 
had  the  smallpox  so  lightly,  her  fame  spread 
through  the  village,  and  every  child  who  had  not 
previously  had  the  disease  was  brought  to  her 
for  inoculation. 

All  the  children  made  a  good  recovery,  but  Mrs. 
Judson's  watchings,  fatigue,  miserable  food  and 
lodgings,  brought  on  a  Burman  disease  that  is 
almost  always  fatal  to  foreigners.  She  became  so 
weak  that  she  could  scarcely  walk  to  Mr.  Judson's 


144  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

prison,  and  in  this  feeble  condition  she  set  out 
for  Ava  in  a  cart,  to  procure  medicines  and  suita- 
ble food.  At  Ava  she  was  so  desperately  ill  that 
her  only  desire  was  to  get  back  to  Aungbinle  and 
die  near  the  prison  where  her  beloved  was  held  in 
chains.  When  she  returned  her  strength  was  ex- 
hausted, and  so  changed  and  emaciated  was  her 
appearance  that  the  Bengali  cook  who  came  out  to 
help  her  into  the  house  burst  into  tears  at  the 
sight  of  her.  "  Mr.  Judson  and  I  must  both  have 
died,"  she  said,  "  had  it  not  been  for  the  faithful 
and  affectionate  care  of  this  cook.  He  would  pro- 
vide and  cook  Mr.  Judson's  food  and  carry  it  to 
the  prison,  and  then  return  and  take  care  of  me. 
He  never  complained,  never  asked  for  his  wages, 
and  never  for  a  moment  hesitated  to  go  anywhere, 
or  to  perform  any  act  that  was  required." 

But  the  most  terrible  thing  of  those  terrible 
days  was  the  suffering  of  the  baby  Maria.  Mrs. 
Judson  in  her  illness  could  not  nurse  her — and 
not  a  drop  of  milk  was  to  be  had  in  the  village. 
Her  cries  in  the  night  were  heartrending.  By 
making  presents  to  the  jailers,  Mrs.  Judson  ob- 
tained leave  for  her  husband  to  come  out  of 
prison.  And  he  took  the  young  child  in  his  arms, 
and  went  about  the  village  and  besought  the  moth- 


ANN   JUDSON  S   REVENGE  I45 

ers  with  little  children  to  nurse  his  starving  child. 
Blessings  on  those  Burman  mothers  who  fed  the 
white  baby  at  their  breasts ! 

At  length  the  time  came  for  release  from  the 
dreary  scenes  at  Aungbinle.  The  official  who  had 
been  the  means  of  having  the  prisoners  removed 
to  Aungbinle,  for  the  diabolical  purpose  of  seeing 
them  put  to  death  there,  was  himself  executed  for 
high  treason,  and  his  death  caused  great  rejoicing 
in  Ava. 

It  was  on  November  5,  1825,  that  the  official 
order  arrived  for  the  release  of  Mr.  Judson  from 
prison.  With  a  joyful  heart  Mrs.  Judson  began 
to  prepare  for  their  departure,  when  the  avaricious 
jailers,  unwilling  to  lose  their  prey,  set  up  a  claim 
that  as  Mrs.  Judson's  name  was  not  in  the  order, 
she  was  their  prisoner  and  could  not  go!  Mr. 
Judson  was  then  taken  out  of  prison  and  brought 
to  the  jailer's  house,  where,  by  promises  and 
threats  he  obtained  their  consent  to  let  his  wife  go, 
on  condition  that  the  provisions  lately  received 
from  Ava  should  be  left  with  them. 

Mr.  Judson,  however,  was  not  really  set  free 
when  he  was  released  from  prison.  The  Burman 
Government  had  a  use  for  him.  Mrs.  Judson  re- 
turned to  Ava  by  boat,  but  Mr.  Judson  was  con- 
ic 


I46  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

ducted  there  under  guard,  and  two  days  after  his 
release  he  was  sent  to  Maloun,  where  the  Burman 
army  was  encamped,  to  act  as  an  interpreter.  But 
the  boat  he  was  taken  in  was  so  small,  and  the 
heat  so  great,  that  when  he  arrived  at  Maloun 
he  was  so  ill  that  he  was  almost  helpless.  Still, 
he  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  Burman 
general,  and  when  they  found  him  too  weak  to 
move,  the  messengers  brought  papers  to  his  floor- 
less  hovel  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  insisted 
that  he  should  translate  them. 

There  were  days  when  he  lay  unconscious,  and 
when  life  and  strength  returned,  as  they  did  so 
many  times  almost  miraculously  in  his  experi- 
ences, he  could  see  that  the  military  leaders  were 
in  mortal  terror  of  the  advancing  British.  One  of 
the  hardest  of  his  tasks  was  to  convince  the  Bur- 
man leaders  that  the  English  commanders  were 
men  of  honor,  and  could  be  depended  on  to  live  up 
to  any  agreements  they  might  make,  for  at  that 
time  the  Burmans  had  no  idea  of  the  principles  of 
honor  that  actuate  civilized  nations.  "  The  teacher 
dreams,"  they  said  to  him. 

He  remained  at  Maloun  about  six  weeks,  and 
then,  on  account  of  the  English  advance  from 
Prome,  was  hurried  back  to  Ava.    It  was  late  at 


ANN   JUDSON'S   REVENGE  I47 

night  when  he  arrived,  and  he  was  taken  through 
the  streets  directly  past  his  own  door.  A  feeble 
light  glimmered  within.  He  entreated  permission 
to  enter  but  for  five  minutes;  he  threatened,  he 
bribed,  he  appealed  to  the  humanity  of  his  guards, 
but  they  declared  they  dared  not  disobey  their 
orders  to  take  him  directly  to  the  court-house, 
where  he  crouched  down  in  an  outbuilding  for  the 
night.  Here,  toward  evening  of  the  next  day, 
Moung  Ing  found  him,  but  the  good  man  was 
strangely  embarrassed  and  hesitating  in  answering 
inquiries  about  Mrs.  Judson.  He  sent  Moung  Ing 
to  the  friendly  governor  for  aid,  and  the  next  day 
that  kind  old  man  became  his  security  with  the 
government,  and  set  him  free. 

He  hastened  along  the  street  as  fast  as  he  could 
with  his  maimed  ankles.  After  the  fetters  were 
taken  off  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  walk 
naturally;  the  five  fetters  weighed  fourteen 
pounds.  When  he  reached  his  beloved  home  the 
door  stood  invitingly  open,  and  he  entered  un- 
seen. There  sat  a  fat  half-naked  Burman  woman 
in  the  ashes  beside  a  pan  of  coals,  holding  on  her 
knees  a  wan  baby,  so  begrimed  with  dirt  that  it 
did  not  seem  possible  to  the  father  that  it  could  be 
his  little  Maria. 


I48  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

He  hurried  to  the  next  room,  and  there  lay  Mrs. 
Judson,  her  face  ghastly  pale,  her  features  sharp, 
her  whole  form  shrunk  and  emaciated.  She  had 
been  sick  for  weeks  with  spotted  fever.  She  was 
taken  ill  soon  after  Mr.  Judson  was  sent  to  the 
Burman  camp.  The  fever  raged  incessantly  till 
she  lost  her  reason.  At  this  dreadful  time  Doctor 
Price  was  released  from  prison,  and  he  obtained 
permission  to  come  and  care  for  her. 

This  was  a  very  sad  home-coming  for  Mr.  Jud- 
son, but,  ill  as  she  was,  Mrs.  Judson  was  already 
on  the  road  to  recovery,  and  as  soon  as  she  was 
able  to  be  moved,  the  governor  of  the  North  Gate 
received  them  into  his  house. 

Meanwhile  the  English  army  was  advancing 
nearer  and  nearer  to  Ava.  The  city  was  thrown 
into  the  greatest  alarm.  Mr.  Judson  and  Doctor 
Price  were  called  daily  to  the  palace  and  consulted. 
The  government  wanted  them  to  go  to  Sir  Archi- 
bald Campbell,  the  British  commander,  and  try  to 
secure  peace  on  easier  terms  than  the  hundred 
lacs  *  of  rupees,  and  finally  Doctor  Price  went 
down  the  river  with  a  British  officer  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner,  to  confer  with  Sir  Archibald. 

They  returned  with  the  report  that  there  could 

1  A  lac  is  a  hundred  thousand  rupees,  $33,333. 


ANN   JUDSON  S   REVENGE  149 

be  no  change  in  the  terms,  except  that  the  hun- 
dred lacs  could  be  paid  in  four  instalments,  and 
twenty-five  lacs  must  be  paid  at  once. 

Still  the  Burmans  pursued  a  dilatory  course, 
till  the  English  were  within  a  few  days'  march  of 
Ava,  and  at  last  they  were  convinced  that  when 
Sir  Archibald  Campbell  said  twenty-five  lacs,  he 
meant  twenty-five,  not  six ;  and  even  the  king  and 
queen  helped  in  melting  gold  and  silver  vessels, 
and  weighing  it  out,  to  save  their  city. 

The  government  now  did  not  even  ask  Mr. 
Judson  the  question  whether  he  would  go  or  not; 
but  some  of  the  officers  took  him  by  the  arm  as 
he  was  walking  the  street,  and  told  him  he  must 
go  immediately  on  board  the  boat,  to  accompany 
the  Burmese  officials  who  were  going  down  to 
make  peace.  This  was  accomplished,  and  in  two 
days  from  the  time  of  Mr.  Judson's  return  to 
Ava,  he  and  Mrs.  Judson  took  an  affectionate 
farewell  of  the  kind  Burman  officer  who  had  so 
long  entertained  them,  and  left  forever  the  banks 
of  Ava. 

"  It  was  on  a  cool,  ^moonlight  evening,"  wrote 
Mrs.  Judson,  "  in  the  month  of  March,  1826,  that 
with  hearts  filled  with  gratitude  to  God,  and  over- 
flowing joy  at  our  prospects,  we  passed  down  the 


150  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

Irawadi,  surrounded  by  six  or  eight  golden  boats, 
and  accompanied  by  all  we  had  on  earth.  We 
now,  for  the  first  time  for  more  than  a  year  and  a 
half,  felt  that  we  were  free,  and  no  longer  subject 
to  the  oppressive  yoke  of  the  Burmese.  And  with 
what  sensations  of  delight,  on  the  next  morning, 
did  I  behold  the  masts  of  the  steamboat,  the  sure 
presage  of  being  within  the  bounds  of  civiliza- 
tion." 

The  camp  of  the  British  was  near  a  place  called 
Yan-ta-bo,  and  there  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were 
received  with  great  honors  and  attention.  In  fact, 
the  reception  of  a  lady  was  a  great  incident  in 
camp,  and  the  fame  of  Mrs.  Judson's  heroic  con- 
duct had  gone  before  her.  General  Campbell's 
son  came  with  the  staff  of  officers  who  escorted  her 
from  the  boat,  and  military  honors  awaited  her  on 
shore,  where  she  was  received  by  Sir  Archibald  in 
person,  and  her  tent  was  larger  and  more  commo- 
dious than  his  own. 

A  few  days  later  General  Campbell  gave  a  din- 
ner to  the  Burmese  peace  commissioners,  and 
made  it  an  affair  of  pomp  and  magnificence.  The 
camp  was  turned  into  a  scene  of  festivity,  with  a 
profusion  of  gold  and  crimson  and  floating  ban- 
ners.    When  the  dinner-hour  had  arrived,   the 


ANN   JUDSONS   REVENGE  151 

company  marched  in  couples,  to  the  music  of  the 
band,  toward  the  table,  led  by  General  Campbell, 
who  walked  alone.  Opposite  the  tent  with  the 
veranda,  suddenly  the  music  ceased,  and  the  whole 
procession  stood  still. 

Before  the  wondering  eyes  of  the  Burmans  the 
general  entered  the  tent.  In  a  moment  he  reap- 
peared, with  a  lady  on  his  arm — no  stranger  to 
the  conscious  commissioners — whom  he  led  to 
the  table  and  seated  at  his  own  right  hand.  The 
commissioners  slid  into  their  seats  shrinkingly 
and  sat  as  though  transfixed  by  astonishment  and 
fear. 

General  Campbell  began  to  take  in  the  situation 
and  enjoyed  it  exceedingly.  "  Mrs.  Judson,"  he 
said,  "  I  fancy  these  gentlemen  are  old  acquaint- 
ances of  yours,  and  judging  from  their  appear- 
ance you  must  have  treated  them  very  ill.  What 
is  the  matter  with  yonder  owner  of  the  pointed 
beard?    He  seems  to  be  seized  with  an  ague  fit." 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  Mrs.  Judson,  fix- 
ing her  eyes  upon  the  trembler,  "  unless  his 
memory  is  busy.  When  my  husband  was  suffer- 
ing from  fever  in  the  inner  prison,  I  walked 
several  miles  to  that  man's  house  to  ask  him  a 
favor.    He  kept  me  waiting  for  hours,  and  then  I 


152  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

received  a  rough  refusal.  When  I  was  turning 
sorrowfully  away  he  seized  the  silk  umbrella  that 
I  carried  in  my  hand.  I  told  him  that  I  needed 
it  to  protect  me  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  that  I 
had  no  money  with  me  to  buy  another,  and  begged 
him  to  let  me  have  at  least  a  paper  umbrella,  if  he 
must  keep  the  silk  one.  But  he  laughed  at  me, 
told  me  it  was  only  stout  people  that  suffered 
from  sunstroke,  and  turned  me  from  his  door." 

Now  the  British  officers,  in  spite  of  their  pride 
of  courtesy  and  hospitality,  could  not  restrain 
their  glances  and  expressions  of  indignation,  and 
the  poor  Burman  seemed  to  understand  what  was 
passing.  His  features  were  distorted  with  fear, 
while  his  face,  from  which  the  perspiration  oozed 
painfully,  appeared,  through  his  tawny  skin,  of  a 
deathly  paleness.  Then  Mrs.  Judson,  with  pity  in 
her  fine  eyes,  leaned  forward  and  spoke  gently  in 
Burmese, 

"  Sir,  you  have  nothing  to  fear." 
And  that  was  Ann  Judson's  revenge. 


XIII 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  PILLOW 

RANGOON  again! 
Once  more  the  Judsons  sailed  down  the 
Irawadi,  this  time  in  a  British  gunboat,  and  ar- 
rived at  Rangoon  March  21,  1826. 

There  they  found  the  little  mission  completely 
broken  up.  The  missionaries,  the  Wades  and  the 
Houghs,  had  been  face  to  face  with  a  terrible 
death.  When  the  British  fleet  drew  near  the 
town  Mr.  Hough  and  Mr.  Wade  were  imprisoned, 
and  the  prison  guard  were  ordered  to  massacre 
them  the  moment  the  British  fired  a  gun. 

That  was  just  the  work  the  prison  guard  en- 
joyed. They  sharpened  their  swords,  and  waved 
them  around  the  heads  of  the  missionaries  with 
great  glee,  and  cast  sand  on  the  floor  to  receive 
their  blood. 

Boom !     Boom ! 

The  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken 
by  a  tremendous  broadside  from  the  gunboat 
"  Liffey,"  and  a  thirty-two  pound  shot  whistled 

153 


154  JUDSON    THE   PIONEER 

horridly  over  the  prison.  The  executioners  be- 
came panic-stricken,  threw  down  their  swords, 
and  fled  from  the  prison. 

But  other  Burmans  came  and  dragged  the  mis- 
sionaries to  the  place  of  execution.  They  were 
compelled  to  kneel,  and  the  great  sword  was  up- 
lifted to  strike,  when  the  second  broadside  came, 
and  the  executioners  fled  once  more,  and  did  not 
return.  Meanwhile  Mrs.  Hough  and  Mrs.  Wade 
had  escaped  great  danger  only  by  disguising  them- 
selves as  Burman  women.  At  last  all  the  mis- 
sionaries were  discovered  and  rescued  by  the  ad- 
vancing British  troops,  and  they  left  for  Calcutta, 
to  remain  there  during  the  war. 

When  the  war  was  over  the  Burmans  were 
compelled  to  give  up  to  the  English  a  part  of  their 
kingdom,  the  province  of  Tenasserim,  five  hun- 
dred miles  long,  bordering  on  the  Bay  of  Bengal. 
In  this  district  the  British  planned  to  found  a  new 
town,  to  be  the  capital  of  the  province  and  the 
headquarters  of  the  army.  Mr.  Judson  went  with 
the  civil  commissioner  to  select  a  site  for  the  new 
town,  and  they  gave  it  the  name  of  Amherst. 

Another  new  start  for  the  pioneers  who  refused 
to  be  discouraged !  Mr.  Judson  decided  to  move 
the   mission   to   Amherst,   where   he   could   still 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  155 

preach  to  Burmans,  and  yet  be  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  British  flag. 

The  Judsons  were  among  the  first  settlers  in 
Amherst.  They  began  their  work  there  July  2, 
1826,  and  made  their  home  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  jungle.  But  the  prospects  looked  bright:  the 
town  was  growing  rapidly ;  there  were  four  faith- 
ful converts  from  Rangoon,  including  Moung  Ing, 
to  start  a  little  church;  the  missionaries  were 
coming  back  from  Calcutta ;  and,  best  of  all,  there 
were  reenforcements — Mr.  and  Mrs.  George 
Dana  Boardman,  who  proved  to  be  most  worthy 
and  helpful  colaborers. 

Just  at  this  time  the  British  Government  asked 
Mr.  Judson  to  go  to  Ava  to  help  make  a  treaty  of 
commerce  with  the  Burman  king.  At  first  he  did 
not  want  to  do  that.  "  I  feel  a  strong  desire,"  he 
said,  "  henceforth  to  avoid  every  secular  occupa- 
tion, and  to  devote  the  remainder  of  my  days  to 
the  simple  declaration  of  the  all-precious  truths  of 
our  great  God  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ."  But 
for  several  reasons  he  finally  concluded  he  ought 
to  go;  and  he  arrived  at  Ava  September  30,  1826. 

And  now  there  fell  upon  the  pioneer  the  shadow 
of  a  great  sorrow,  harder  to  bear  than  all  the 
bodily  pains  and  tortures  which  he  had  endured. 


156  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

One  day  a  letter  was  brought  to  him  which  told 
him  that  his  beloved  wife  was  dead. 

After  her  husband  left  for  Ava  Mrs.  Judson 
went  about  her  work  with  a  cheerful  heart.  She 
built  a  little  bamboo  dwelling  and  two  school- 
houses,  and  started  a  school  for  the  Burman  chil- 
dren. Then  suddenly  came  the  Indian  fever  once 
more,  and  this  time  her  strength,  after  all  she  had 
been  through,  was  too  weak  to  resist  it.  No  mis- 
sionary friends  had  yet  come  to  Amherst,  and  her 
husband  was  far  away  in  Ava.  The  English 
doctor  and  residents  did  all  they  could,  while  the 
Burman  converts,  like  children,  gathered  broken- 
hearted around  their  "  white  mama."  It  was 
on  October  24,  1826,  that  her  spirit  passed.  All 
the  European  officers  at  Amherst  attended  her 
funeral,  and  they  buried  her  beside  the  southern 
sea,  beneath  the  shade  of  the  hopia  tree.  It  was 
a  lonely  grave  then,  but  since  that  day  millions 
have  stood  by  it  in  spirit,  and  honored  the  one  who 
was  laid  to  rest  there.  And  so  will  other  millions 
speak  her  praise,  as  long  as  the  Blessed  Story, 
which  Ann  Judson  gave  her  life  to  tell,  is  known 
among  men. 

It  was  at  this  time — the  only  time — that  the 
pioneer  almost  gave  up  in  despair.    He  loved  his 


HOPIA   TREE    NEAR   THE   GRAVE  OF   ANN    HASSELTINE   JUDSON 


FRANJIPANI   TREE   PLANTED   BY   THE   PIONEER 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  1 57 

wife  so  dearly,  he  depended  upon  her  so  fully, 
they  had  toiled  and  suffered  together  so  bravely, 
that  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  a  gloom  were 
cast  over  all  his  future  prospects.  For  a  short 
time  he  had  his  little  Maria  to  comfort  him  and 
remind  him  of  her  mother;  but  in  a  few  months 
she  too  was  taken  and  laid  beside  that  mother 
beneath  the  hopia  tree. 

But  the  pioneer  was  too  great  a  man  to  stay 
in  the  depths  of  despair.  He  struggled  through 
the  gloom  and  with  the  old-time  Judson  courage 
and  zeal  he  pressed  forward. 

It  was  a  strange  thing,  but  after  all  they  had 
endured  the  missionaries  had  not  yet  found  just 
the  right  place  for  the  headquarters  of  their  work 
in  Burma.  That  is  the  way  it  always  is  in  pioneer- 
ing— if  at  first  you  don't  succeed,  try,  try  again. 
Amherst  didn't  prove  to  be  the  chief  town  of  the 
new  province  after  all.  Moulmein,  twenty-five 
miles  farther  north,  was  made  the  headquarters 
of  the  army  and  the  seat  of  British  authority.  So 
once  again,  in  1827,  the  mission  was  moved,  and 
at  Moulmein  began  the  real  success  of  the  work  in 
Burma,  and  from  it  new  missionaries  went  forth 
in  all  directions,  to  found  new  stations  by  the 
riverside  and  among  the  mountains. 


I58  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

It  was  at  Moulmein,  through  years  of  faithful 
toil,  that  Judson  completed  the  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  Burmese.  Perhaps  this  was  the  crown 
of  his  life-work. 

He  began  it,  you  remember,  almost  as  soon  as 
he  came  to  Burma,  and  had  finished  the  New  Tes- 
tament before  he  was  cast  into  prison  at  Ava. 
When  Mrs.  Judson  was  allowed  to  come  to  the 
prison  and  speak  to  him  in  English,  one  of  the  first 
questions  he  asked  was,  "  Where  is  the  New 
Testament  manuscript?  " 

Ann  hesitated  a  moment,  as  if  the  very  prison 
walls  could  understand  English.  "  I  have  hidden 
it  in  the  ground  under  the  house,  along  with  the 
silver  money  and  other  things." 

"  Yes,  that's  all  right  for  now ;  but  it  is  the 
rainy  season,  and  if  the  paper  stays  there  it  will 
mold  and  spoil.  We  must  think  of  some  better 
plan  to  save  it." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do,"  declared  Ann,  "  I 
will  make  it  into  a  pillow  for  you." 

So  she  took  the  precious  manuscript  and  sewed 
it  up  into  a  pillow,  so  hard  and  uncomfortable  that 
even  his  Burman  jailers  didn't  have  any  tempta- 
tion to  take  it  away  from  him,  and  this  he  put 
under  his  head  every  night  till  the  prisoners  were 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  1 59 

carried  away  to  Aungbinle.  Years  afterward 
somebody  asked  him,  "  How  could  you  rest  on  a 
pillow  like  that?" 

"  Well,"  he  replied,  "  when  people  are  loaded 
with  chains,  and  sleep  half  the  time  on  a  bare 
board,  their  senses  become  so  obtuse  that  they 
don't  know  the  difference  between  a  hard  pillow 
and  a  soft  one." 

When  the  white  prisoners  were  thrust  back 
into  the  inner  prison  at  Ava,  Mr.  Judson's  hard 
pillow  fell  to  the  lot  of  one  of  the  keepers,  and  Mr. 
Judson   was   given   one   that   was  not   quite   so 

rocky."  But  he  kept  watch  of  the  hard  pillow, 
and  offered  his  better  one  in  exchange  for  it. 
Burmans  are  quick  at  a  bargain,  and  the  keeper 
jumped  at  the  chance,  thinking,  no  doubt,  "  What 
fools  these  white  men  are !  " 

When  the  ruffians  came  to  drive  the  prisoners 
to  Aungbinle,  one  of  them,  looking  for  some  kind 
of  loot,  grabbed  the  old  pillow.  He  took  off  the 
mat  which  was  used  as  a  cover,  and  threw  the 
roll  of  hard  cotton  away. 

That  looked  like  the  end  of  the  manuscript 
story.  But  a  few  hours  later  good  Moung  Ing 
came  hunting  about  the  prison  and  street,  to  see 
if  he  could  find  anything  belonging  to  his  beloved 


l60  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

teacher.  What  is  that  ?  Moung  Ing  stooped  and 
picked  up  the  bundle.  Why,  that  is  the  pillow 
that  the  mama  teacher  made.  And  he  took  it 
to  the  house  as  a  token,  and  when  the  prison 
scenes  were  over  the  manuscript  was  safe  and 
untouched. 

One  of  the  new  missionaries  who  came  to  Moul- 
mein  was  Cephas  Bennett,  a  printer,  and  Mr. 
Judson  began  to  put  the  New  Testament  through 
the  press  and  to  continue  on  the  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament.  He  had  a  little  room  built  near 
the  native  chapel  where  he  did  this  work.  How 
vigorously  he  went  at  translating  was  pretty  well 
told  in  a  description  by  Mrs.  Emily  Judson,  when 
Mr.  Judson  was  a  good  many  years  older.  "  The 
good  man  works  like  a  galley-slave.  He  walks — 
or  rather  runs — like  a  boy  over  the  hills,  a  mile 
or  two  every  morning;  then  down  to  his  books, 
scratch,  scratch,  puzzle,  puzzle,  and  when  he  gets 
deep  into  the  mire,  out  on  the  veranda,  talking 
with  me,  and  then  down  again,  and#so  on  till  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  It  is  this  walking  that  is 
keeping  him  out  of  the  grave." 

But  there  were  times  in  Moulmein  when  the 
other  sort  of  pioneering  broke  out  in  him — the 
kind  he  loved  the  best.    Up  and  down  the  Irawadi 


THE   BIBLE   IN    BURMESE,   TRANSLATED   BY   JUDSON 


THE   AMERICAN    BAPTIST   MISSION    PRESS   AT   RANGOON 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  l6l 

he  went,  speaking  to  the  multitudes  in  the  cities, 
preaching  Christ  at  the  foot  of  a  Buddhist  pagoda, 
talking  with  some  lone  traveler  by  the  wayside, 
distributing  tracts  and  books.  Long  afterward 
missionaries  found  elderly  people  in  remote  parts 
of  Burma  who  would  say: 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  what  you  mean.  Once  I  was 
on  a  journey,  and  I  met  him  they  called  Yood- 
than,  and  he  told  this  same  Jesus  story.  Oh,  but 
his  eyes  did  shine!    I  have  never  forgotten  it." 

It  was  during  these  years  too,  that  the  wonder- 
ful story  of  the  Karens  and  the  gospel  began. 
Almost  as  soon  as  Judson  came  to  Rangoon  he 
noticed  small  parties  of  wild-looking  men  that 
straggled  past  his  home. 

"  What  kind  of  Burmans  are  those?  "  he  asked. 

"  They  are  not  Burmans  at  all,"  his  people  told 
him ;  "  they  are  Karens.  They  are  not  Buddhist, 
either;  they  worship  the  spirits  when  they  wor- 
ship at  all.  There  is  undying  hatred  between 
them  and  the  Burmans,  and  you  cannot  tame  them 
any  more  than  you  can  the  wild  buffaloes  of  the 
mountains." 

But  the  pioneer  knew  that  there  was  no  tribe 
nor  nation  that  the  gospel  could  not  tame,  and  he 
was  the  means  of  bringing  into  gospel  light  Ko 

L 


1 62  JUDSON    THE    riONEER 

Tha  Byu,  the  first  of  the  many  thousands  of  Karen 
converts  in  Burma. 

This  man  was,  as  he  told  his  own  story  in  later 
years,  a  wicked  and  ungovernable  boy,  and  when 
he  was  about  fifteen  years  old  he  ran  away  from 
his  mountain  home  to  join  a  company  of  robbers 
and  murderers.  Robbers  in  Burma  at  that  time 
were  men  who  by  profession  performed  the  most 
horrid  deeds,  and  Ko  Tha  Byu  became  a  leader 
among  them. 

After  the  Burman  war  of  1826,  Ko  Tha  Byu 
drifted  to  Rangoon,  where  Shwe  Be,  a  Burman 
helper  of  Judson,  bought  him,  according  to  Bur- 
man law,  by  paying  his  debt  of  a  few  rupees.  But 
he  seemed  to  be  so  stupid  that  his  master  was  glad 
to  get  rid  of  him.  Doctor  Judson  took  him,  pay- 
ing to  Shwe  Be  the  amount  of  his  debt,  and  so  be- 
coming nominally  Ko  Tha  Byu's  master.  But  his 
only  purpose  was  to  open  his  eyes  to  the  gospel, 
and  thus  reach  the  Karens  through  him. 

Oh,  what  a  patient,  persevering,  long-suffering, 
never-let-go,  always  believing,  enthusiastic  man 
Adoniram  Judson  was !  He  went  at  Ko  Tha  Byu 
just  as  he  did  everything  else.  For  months  he 
worked  over  him  and  patiently  tried  to  open  up  his 
stupid  mind  and  get  at  any  goodness  there,  or 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  1 63 

develop  any  power  of  self-control  in  him,  but  with 
little  to  show  for  his  efforts.  Never  mind;  the 
teaching  went  on,  and  by  and  by  the  patient, 
prayerful  work  began  to  prevail.  Inch  by  inch  the 
Sun  of  righteousness  arose,  inch  by  inch  the  dark- 
ness was  driven  out  of  Ko  Tha  Byu's  heart,  and 
he  began  to  have  some  control  over  his  temper, 
until  the  robber  and  murderer  was  changed  into 
the  willing,  faithful  follower  of  Christ. 

It  was  at  Tavoy  that  he  was  baptized,  by  George 
Dana  Boardman,  in  1828.  He  had  been  accepted 
for  baptism  by  Judson's  little  Burman  church  at 
Moulmein,  but  when  Boardman  was  sent  to 
Tavoy,  Ko  Tha  Byu  begged  to  go  with  him  and 
seek  out  the  Karens  in  the  mountains  around  that 
city. 

He  was  wonderfully  successful  among  his  fel- 
low tribesmen.  One  reason  for  this  was  that  he 
told  them  that  the  Karen  traditions  were  now  ful- 
filled in  the  coming  of  the  missionaries.  The  Ka- 
rens had  some  remarkable  traditions  about  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  the  temptation  and  fall 
of  man,  similar  to  the  record  in  Genesis.  They 
were  not  idol-worshipers,  but  they  made  offerings 
to  the  spirits  of  earth  and  air.  Moreover,  their 
prophets   had    told   them   that    some   day    their 


164  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

"  younger  white  brother  "  would  come  across  the 
sea  with  the  "  white  book  "  which  their  ancestors 
had  lost. 

So  when  Ko  Tha  Byu  came  to  their  villages 
with  the  news  that  the  White  Brother  had  come, 
and  that  he  had  brought  the  White  Book  of  Life, 
they  were  ready  to  accept  it.  The  news  was  car- 
ried from  hill  to  hill,  the  chiefs  and  the  elders 
came  down  to  the  mission  stations  to  see  for  them- 
selves, and  several  thousand  were  baptized  within 
a  few  months. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  the  work  among  the 
Karens,  which  has  been  the  most  successful  of  all 
mission  work  in  Burma.  Judson  himself  never 
learned  the  Karen  language,  but,  with  Ko  Tha 
Byu  and  others,  he  made  trips  to  the  Karen  vil- 
lages, and  saw  the  spreading  of  the  influence  that 
began  with  the  conversion  of  one  wild  Karen 
robber. 
^/  Amid  such  scenes  as  these  Judson  worked  faith- 
fully on  with  his  Burman  Bible  till  at  last  the  glad 
day  came  when  it  was  finished.  On  the  last  day 
of  January,  1834,  he  wrote:  "  Thanks  be  to  God, 
I  can  now  say  I  have  attained.  I  have  knelt  down 
before  him  with  the  last  leaf  in  my  hand ;  I  have 
commended  it  to  his  mercy  and  grace;  I  have 


JUDSON    MADE  TRIPS   TO   THE   KAREN   VILLAGES  " 


fLtffli'j: 

■ton  ^Tt^vTr^^^^tf^M l 

Rl 

'jj™ 

W  1 

I 

k 

SPREADING   THE   GOSPEL   STORY   AMONG   THE   KARENS 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    PILLOW  l6$ 

dedicated  it  to  his  glory.  May  he  make  his  own 
inspired  word,  now  complete  in  the  Burman 
tongue,  the  grand  instrument  of  rilling  all  Burma 
with  songs  of  praise  to  our  great  God  and  Sa- 
viour, Jesus  Christ.    Amen !  " 

The  pioneer's  head  did  not  rest  on  a  hard  pillow 
that  night. 


XIV 

ECHOES  FROM  MOULMEIN 

TEN  years  of  happy  home  life! 
That  is  the  next  chapter  in  the  pioneer's 
story,  though  it  has  a  sad  ending. 

Soon  after  he  finished  the  Bunnan  Bible,  Mr. 
Judson  made  a  trip  to  Tavoy,  and  there,  April 
10,  1834,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Board- 
man,  the  widow  of  the  devoted  missionary,  George 
Dana  Boardman. 

The  new  Mrs.  Judson  was  another  true  mission- 
ary heroine.  After  Mr.  Boardman  died  she  spent 
the  three  years  of  her  widowhood  in  tireless  serv- 
ice among  the  Karens  at  Tavoy,  even  going  on 
jungle  tours,  climbing  mountains,  and  fording 
rivers  to  reach  the  villages.  A  British  officer  tells 
how  he  met  her  on  a  stormy  day  among  the  wild 
dreary  mountains.  "  I  took  refuge  from  the 
storm  in  a  wayside  zayat,  and  was  just  thinking 
what  wretched  corners  the  world  has  hidden  be- 
yond its  oceans  and  trees,  when  suddenly  I  was 
startled  by  the  vision  of  a  fair,  smiling  face  in 
166 


ECHOES   FROM    MOULMEIN  167 

front  of  the  zayat,  belonging  to  a  dripping  figure, 
which  seemed,  to  my  surprised  imagination,  to 
have  stepped  that  moment  from  the  clouds.  But 
the  party  of  wild  Karen  followers  which  gathered 
around  her  had  a  very  human  air.  The  lady  was 
as  much  surprised  as  myself;  but  she  courtesied 
with  ready  grace,  as  she  made  some  pleasant  re- 
mark in  English." 

This  was  Mrs.  Boardman  on  one  of  her  jun- 
gle tours.  "  When  I  first  stood  by  the  grave  of 
Mr.  Boardman,"  she  said  to  a  friend,  "  I  felt  that 
I  must  go  home  with  my  little  boy  George.  But 
these  Karens,  schoolboys,  and  Burmans  would  be 
left  without  any  one  to  instruct  them;  how  could 
I  go?" 

Busy  days  began  again  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Judson  returned  to  Moulmein.  Mr.  Judson  was 
still  at  work  on  the  Bible.  He  spent  six  years 
after  he  had  finished  the  translation  in  revising 
it  before  he  would  allow  it  to  go  to  press.  But 
that  wasn't  all.  He  preached  twice  every  Sun- 
day; he  held  a  meeting  every  morning  with  the 
native  evangelists,  who  went  about  the  town 
preaching ;  he  had  the  care  of  the  Burman  church ; 
he  superintended  the  printing-press — and  other 
things  "  too  numero  is  to  mention." 


1 68  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

As  the  years  went  on  little  children  were  born 
in  the  Moulmein  home,  and  the  pioneer  laughed 
and  sang  and  romped  like  a  child  with  them. 

"  Your  little  sister  Abby  is  a  sweet,  fat  baby," 
he  wrote  to  his  young  stepson,  George  Boardman, 
who  had  been  sent  to  America.  And  he  talked  like 
any  other  proud  father  about  his  first  son,  Adoni- 
ram :  "  He  is  one  of  the  prettiest,  brightest  chil- 
dren you  ever  saw.  Abby  is  growing  fast.  She 
runs  about  and  talks  Burman  quite  fluently,  but 
no  English.  I  am  not  troubled  about  her  not 
getting  English  at  present,  for  we  shall  have  to 
send  her  home  in  a  few  years,  and  then  she  will 
get  it  of  course." 

Here  is  a  little  scene  that  was  just  as  funny 
in  Burma  as  it  would  have  been  in  America. 
One  Sunday  the  nurse  carried  little  Adoniram, 
"  Pwen,"  the  natives  called  him,  to  church  where 
his  father  preached.  But  as  soon  as  Mr.  Judson 
stood  up  in  the  pulpit  Pwen  began  to  call  out,  in 
a  voice  almost  as  big  as  his  father's,  "  Bah ! 
Bah!  "  which  is  the  Burman  word  for  "  father," 
and  the  nurse  had  to  carry  him  out  with  all  haste. 
Edward  Judson  remembers  how  his  father  used  to 
play  joyfully  with  him  and  the  other  children,  and 
would  come  into  his  room  in  the  morning  with  a 


A    HEATHEN    BURMAN 


CHRISTIAN   BURMANS 


ECHOES    FROM    MOULMEIN  169 

delicious  piece  of  Burman  cake,  and  spring  the 
news,  "  Another  rat  caught  in  the  trap  last  night, 
Edward !  "  and  Mr.  Judson  wrote  to  a  missionary 
friend :  "  I  have  to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  rising 
generation  every  evening,  and  that  takes  time. 
Henry  can  say  '  Twinkle,  twinkle  '  all  by  himself, 
and  Edward  can  repeat  it  after  his  father !  Giants 
of  genius !  paragons  of  erudition !  "  With  chil- 
dren the  pioneer  showed  the  heart  of  a  child. 

Even  better  than  a  photograph  is  the  descrip- 
tion of  Mr.  Judson  at  work,  from  Doctor  Malcom, 
who  visited  Moulmein  about  this  time.  "  We 
worshiped  with  the  Burman  congregation  in  the 
zayat.  About  seventy  were  present,  nearly  all 
Christians.  Seldom  have  I  seen  so  attentive  and 
devout  an  audience.  But  it  was  sweet  to  see  the 
founder  of  the  mission  sitting  there  to  rejoice  in 
the  growth  of  the  cause  for  which  he  suffered  so 
much.  His  labors,  his  sufferings  for  years,  his 
mastery  of  the  language,  his  being  the  pastor  of 
a  church  of  over  a  hundred  natives,  make  him  the 
most  interesting  missionary  now  alive.  His  age 
is  but  forty-seven ;  his  eye  is  not  dim ;  not  a  gray 
hair  shows  itself  among  his  full  auburn  locks;  his 
moderate-sized  person  seems  full  of  vigor;  he 
walks  almost  every  evening  a  mile  or  two  at  a 


170  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

quick  pace,  and  enjoys  in  general  steadfast 
health." 

But  toward  the  close  of  this  period  there  was 
much  illness  in  the  home  at  Moulmein.  Mr.  Jud- 
son  developed  a  throat  trouble,  which  soon  began 
to  make  it  very  hard  for  him  to  speak,  and  Mrs. 
Judson  and  some  of  the  children  were  seriously 
ill.  They  all  took  some  sea-voyages,  which  gave 
partial  relief,  but  at  length  it  was  plain  enough 
to  be  seen  that  the  only  chance  to  save  Mrs.  Jud- 
son's  life  was  to  take  her  away  from  the  tropical 
climate.  Therefore  they  made  arrangements  to 
go  to  America,  and  on  April  26,  1845,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson,  with  Abby,  Adoniram,  and  Elna- 
than,  embarked  on  the  ship  "  Paragon,"  bound 
for  London. 

Now,  what  do  you  suppose  this  middle-aged 
dynamo  proposed  to  do  "  on  the  side  "  while  he 
was  away  from  Burma  ?  He  had  begun  work  on  a 
Burman  dictionary,  and  he  actually  took  with  him 
two  Burmese  assistants,  so  that  he  could  keep 
pegging  away  at  that  dictionary.  "  It  is  my  pur- 
pose," he  wrote  to  the  Board,  "  to  devote  some 
hours  each  day,  whether  on  the  sea  or  land,  to  the 
dictionary." 

The  first  part  of  the  voyage  was  rough,  and  the 


ECHOES    FROM    MOULMEIN  171 

ship  sprang  aleak,  so  that  the  captain  put  in  at 
the  island  of  Mauritius,  where  they  arrived  July 
fifth. 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Judson  seemed  much  bet- 
ter, and  that  fact  led  to  one  of  the  most  heroic 
decisions  ever  made  by  man  or  woman.  It  was 
this:  That  Mr.  Judson  should  return  to  Burma, 
while  Mrs.  Judson  should  go  on  with  the  children 
to  America.  Both  had  been  absent  from  their 
native  land  for  many  years,  and  their  affection  for 
each  other  was  so  deep  that  the  thought  of  part- 
ing was  a  greater  suffering  than  any  bodily  pain ; 
yet  because  of  their  love  for  the  Master  and  those 
he  came  to  save,  they  made  this  heroic  sacrifice. 
And  under  the  inspiration  of  that  exalted  act  Mrs. 
Judson  wrote,  for  her  husband  to  take  back  to 
Burma,  the  beautiful  poem  beginning: 

We  part  on  this  green  islet,  love — 

Thou  for  the  eastern  main, 
I  for  the  setting  sun,  love, 

Oh,  when  to  meet  again! 

The  two  Burmese  assistants  had  been  sent  back 
to  Moulmein,  and  Mr.  Judson  was  only  waiting  to 
see  Mrs.  Judson  safely  on  board  a  ship  for  Amer- 
ica, when  she  became  very  ill  again.  He  knew  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  leave  her,  and  they 


1^2  JUDSON   THE   PIONEER 

embarked  on  the  ship  "  Sophia  Walker,"  bound 
directly  for  the  United  States. 

At  sea  Mrs.  Judson  revived  for  a  short  time, 
but  as  they  drew  near  the  island  of  St.  Helena  she 
sank  rapidly,  and  died,  September  1,  1845,  not 
alone,  as  Ann  had  died  at  Amherst,  but  with  her 
husband  near  her,  to  hold  her  hand  and  to  speak 
words  of  comfort  and  affection  to  the  last. 

Captain  Codman,  the  kind-hearted  master  of 
the  ship,  which  had  come  to  anchor  in  the  port 
of  St.  Helena,  did  all  in  his  power  to  show  respect 
and  honor  both  to  the  living  and  the  dead.  The 
flag  of  the  ship  was  put  at  half-mast,  and  imme- 
diately all  the  ships  in  the  harbor  responded  with 
the  same  signal.  The  American  consul  provided 
mourning  garments  for  Mr.  Judson  and  the  three 
children.  Toward  sunset  a  little  procession  was 
formed  in  the  harbor;  three  boats  went  ahead, 
"  mournfully,  tenderly,  solemn,  and  slow,"  towing 
the  boat  which  bore  the  body  of  Mrs.  Judson. 
Then  came  a  boat  with  Mr.  Judson  and  the  chil- 
dren and  Captain  Codman. 

On  shore  the  people  were  eager  to  show  their 
sympathy.  The  shops  were  closed  and  all  busi- 
ness suspended.  They  had  prepared  a  grave  in  a 
beautiful,  shady  spot,  and  there  a  large  company 


ECHOES    FROM    MOULMEIN  1 73 

of  people  gathered  to  witness  the  burial  service, 
conducted  by  the  Colonial  chaplain  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Bertram.  And  thus  on  the  "  Rock  of  the  Sea," 
where  died  Napoleon,  the  greatest  advocate  and 
upholder  of  war,  was  laid  to  rest  the  gentle, 
devoted  follower  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

Mournfully,  tenderly, 

Bear  onward  the  dead. 
Where  the  Warrior  has  lain, 

Let  the  Christian  be  laid; 
No  place  more  befitting, 

O  Rock  of  the  Sea! 
Never  such  treasure 

Was  hidden  in  thee. 

Mr.  Bertram  and  his  friends  welcomed  Mr. 
Judson  to  their  homes  and  hearts.  But  the  ship 
could  not  delay.  That  same  evening  they  sailed 
away,  and  on  October  15,  1845,  tne  pioneer  and 
his  motherless  children  arrived  in  Boston. 


XV 

THE  PIONEER'S  FAREWELL 

FAMOUS  MISSIONARY  ARRIVES! 

DOCTOR  JUDSON  IN  BOSTON! 

CHURCHES  CANT  HOLD  THRONGS! 

WITH  such  phrases  as  these  the  newspapers 
reported  the  arrival  of  the  pioneer  in  his 
native  land,  and  his  triumphal  progress  through 
the  country.  And  nobody  was  astonished  at  this 
reception  but  Mr.  Jtidson  himself. 

When  the  ship  was  entering  the  harbor  he  was 
wondering  anxiously,  "  Where  can  I  find  a  lodg- 
ing-place for  myself  and  the  children?  "  But  the 
moment  his  arrival  was  known  the  doors  of  hun- 
dreds of  homes  swung  wide  to  welcome  him  and 
to  comfort  and  care  for  his  children. 

In  fact,  Mr.  Judson  hardly  knew  how  to  act 
under  the  tremendous  enthusiasm  which  his  visit 
to  the  United  States  aroused.  "  Once  I  was  pres- 
ent," said  a  gentleman,  "  where  a  great  concourse 

174 


THE    PIONEERS    FAREWELL  1 75 

of  people  assembled  to  greet  Mr.  Judson.  One  of 
the  speakers  addressed  him  in  words  of  eloquent 
praise ;  but  as  he  continued  Mr.  Judson's  head  sank 
lower  and  lower  until  his  chin  seemed  to  touch  his 
breast." 

Again,  he  had  so  completely  adapted  himself  to 
Burma  that  coming  home  was  in  some  respects 
like  going  to  a  foreign  country.  The  whole  rail- 
way system  had  come  into  existence  since  he 
sailed  on  the  "  Caravan."  One  day  he  entered  a 
train  at  Worcester,  and  had  just  taken  his  seat, 
when  the  newsboy  came  along. 

"Paper,  sir?" 

"  Yes,  thank  you,"  said  the  missionary,  and  he 
took  a  paper  and  calmly  began  to  read. 

The  newsboy  waited — and  waited,  and  began 
to  think  unutterable  things  about  such  a  customer. 
There  was  a  lady  in  the  same  seat  with  Mr.  Jud- 
son, and  at  last  she  spoke : 

"  The  boy  expects  to  be  paid  for  his  paper." 

Mr.  Judson  started  up  in  surprise.  "  Why — 
yes,  yes,"  he  stammered ;  "  I  have  been  distribu- 
ting papers  free  so  long  in  Burma  that  I  had  no 
idea  the  boy  was  expecting  any  pay." 

He  even  went  to  extremes  in  sinking  himself 
out  of  sight  for  Burma's  sake.     He  wrote  to  the 


I76  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

Board  before  he  came  home  that  they  mustn't 
expect  him  to  make  speeches,  because  he  had  prac- 
tically lost  the  speaking  use  of  English.  "  When 
I  crossed  the  river,"  he  said,  "  I  burned  my  ships. 
For  thirty-two  years  I  have  scarcely  entered  an 
English  pulpit  or  made  a  speech  in  that  language." 
His  increasing  throat  trouble  too  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  speak  very  much. 

Still,  he  did  appear  before  many  great  congre- 
gations, and  spoke  when  he  could.  There  was  a 
thrilling  scene  at  the  Bowdoin  Square  Church,  in 
Boston,  two  days  after  his  arrival.  Doctor  Sharp 
welcomed  him,  and  then  Mr.  Judson  rose  to 
reply.  But  he  could  not  be  heard  a  few  feet  from 
where  he  stood;  the  glorious  voice  that  had  rung 
out  among  the  pagodas  of  Burma  was  almost 
silenced. 

Doctor  Hague  stood  by  the  missionary's  side 
and  repeated  what  he  said  to  the  multitude,  and 
then  went  on  with  a  speech  of  his  own. 

Suddenly  he  was  interrupted.  A  man  pressed 
through  the  crowded  aisles,  ascended  the  pulpit, 
and  he  and  Mr.  Judson  embraced  each  other  with 
tears  of  affection,  and  there  were  tears  in  the  eyes 
of  many  others  as  they  looked  on  the  scene.  For 
this  was  Samuel  Nott,  one  of  the  five  young  men 


THE    PIONEER'S    FAREWELL  1 77 

ordained  at  Salem  thirty-three  years  before. 
Newell,  Rice,  and  Hall  were  dead ;  Nott  had  come 
home  because  of  ill  health;  and  the  only  one  of 
the  five  still  active  in  missionary  work  was  Jud- 
son — after  all  his  tortures  and  sufferings. 

Another  thrilling  scene  was  at  the  Triennial 
Convention — the  convention  that  was  organized  in 
response  to  Judson's  trumpet  call.  It  was  held  at 
New  York,  November  19,  1845.  ^n  tne  presence 
of  the  vast  throng  Doctor  Cone  took  the  mis- 
sionary by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  the  plat- 
form to  introduce  him  to  the  president,  Doctor 
Wayland. 

The  effect  upon  the  multitude  was  overwhelm- 
ing. They  could  not  restrain  their  emotions,  for 
they  saw  more  than  the  pale,  worn  missionary; 
around  him  they  beheld  the  prison  scenes  at  Ava 
and  Aungbinle;  beside  him  they  saw  those  beau- 
tiful, devoted  women,  who  gave  their  lives  joy- 
fully that  they  might  be  fellow  servants  of  Christ 
with  him. 

At  this  convention  there  was  some  discussion 
about  giving  up  the  Burman  mission  in  Arracan. 
This  was  too  much  for  Judson.  He  sprang  up, 
and  for  a  moment  the  splendid  voice  rang  out  as 
of  old: 

M 


I78  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

"  I  must  protest  against  the  abandonment  of  the 
Arracan  Mission ! " 

Then  his  speech  sank  to  a  whisper  again;  but 
the  words  were  mighty  even  though  they  had  to 
be  repeated  to  the  audience  by  the  lips  of  Doctor 
Cone: 

"  If  the  convention  thinks  my  services  can  be 
dispensed  with  in  finishing  the  dictionary,  I  will 
go  immediately  to  Arracan;  or  I  will  go  there 
after  the  dictionary  is  finished,  if  God  spares  my 
life,  and  labor  there,  and  die,  and  be  buried  there." 

The  convention  was  stirred  to  its  depths,  and 
the  Arracan  Mission  was  saved. 

It  was  the  same  in  the  South  as  in  the  North. 
"  We  have  long  and  fervently  wished  to  see  your 
face,"  said  Doctor  Jeter  in  welcoming  him  to  a 
great  meeting  at  Richmond,  in  February,  1846. 
"  Welcome,  thrice  welcome  are  you,  my  brother, 
to  our  city,  our  churches,  our  hearts.  I  speak  as 
a  representative  of  Southern  Baptists.  We  love 
you  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  for  your  labors  in 
the  cause  of  Christ.  We  honor  you  as  the  father 
of  American  missions."  He  wished  to  go  farther 
south,  but  his  strength  would  not  permit. 

One  thing  that  Mr.  Judson  wished  to  do  while 
in  America  was  to  make  arrangements  for  the 


THE   SCHOOLS    HAVE   THEIR   FOOTBALL   TEAMS 


BOYS   OF  A    MISSION   SCHOOL  AT  GYMNASTICS 


THE    PIONEERS    FAREWELL  1 79 

preparation  of  a  life  of  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Judson. 
A  life  of  Ann  Judson  had  been  published,  and  was 
eagerly  read  by  thousands. 

For  this  purpose  he  was  introduced  to  Miss 
Emily  Chubbuck,  a  brilliant  and  popular  writer, 
who  used  the  pen-name  of  Fanny  Forester.  This 
acquaintance  led  to  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Judson 
and  Miss  Chubbuck,  June  2,  1846. 

Mrs.  Emily  Judson  was  only  a  few  years  in 
the  mission  field,  but  there  is  j,  special  reason  why 
all  who  love  and  honor  the  memory  of  Adoniram 
Judson  must  be  very  grateful  to  her.  He  went 
to  extremes  in  belittling  his  experiences  and 
achievements,  and  in  destroying  all  but  the  most 
general  accounts  of  them.  But  he  often  talked 
with  Emily  about  the  past,  and  she  made  notes 
and  recorded  incidents  that  without  her  help 
would  have  remained  unknown.  One  little  pas- 
sage from  her  writings  shows  why  it  was  that 
those  who  were  nearest  to  Mr.  Judson  had  such 
a  deep  affection  for  him :  "  He  was  always  plan- 
ning little  surprises  for  family  and  neighbors, 
and  kept  up  through  his  married  life  those  little 
lover-like  attentions  which  I  believe  husbands  are 
apt  to  forget.  There  was  always  a  kind  of 
romance  about  him.    If  he  went  out  before  I  was 


l8o  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

awake  in  the  morning,  very  likely  some  pretty 
message  was  pinned  to  my  mosquito-curtain. 
And  often  when  he  sat  at  his  study  table,  some 
droll,  tender,  or  encouraging  message  was  con- 
stantly finding  its  way  to  me  on  a  scrap  of  paper." 

And  now  farewells  must  be  spoken  again,  to 
his  children,  to  his  sister  Abby  at  Plymouth,  to 
many  dear  friends  everywhere.  One  of  the  most 
touching  incidents  was  his  visit  to  the  Tabernacle 
Church,  in  Salem,  where  he  had  been  ordained. 
Not  many  years  ago  there  was  an  elderly  man  in 
Salem  who  remembered  that  scene.    He  said : 

"  I  was  a  boy  about  sixteen  years  old  when 
Mr.  Judson  visited  America,  and  went  to  Sun- 
day-school in  the  Tabernacle  Church.  One  day, 
during  the  session  of  the  school  Mr.  Judson  came 
into  the  room,  went  to  the  old  Deacons'  Seat, 
where  he  sat  during  the  ordination  in  1812,  and 
remained  quietly  there  for  some  time.  I  can  re- 
member just  how  he  looked."  That's  it — there 
was  something  about  the  personality  of  Judson 
that  made  a  deep  impression  on  every  one  who 
met  him. 

The  missionary  party  sailed  from  Boston  July 
11,  1846,  and  where  do  you  suppose  Judson  in- 
tended to  finish  up  his  work  as  a  missionary  ? 


THE   PIONEER'S   FAREWELL  l8l 

Back  in  Rangoon ! 

Somehow  he  couldn't  seem  to  give  up  the  idea 
of  establishing  a  successful  mission  at  Rangoon, 
and  they  set  up  housekeeping  there  in  "  Bat 
Castle,"  February  15,  1847,  coming  by  way  of 
Moulmein,  and  bringing  the  two  little  boys  of 
Mr.  Judson  who  had  been  left  there. 

"  Bat  Castle  "  was  a  big  brick  house  which  Mr. 
Judson  hired,  and  many  of  the  rooms  were  full  of 
bats.  "  We  have  had  a  grand  bat  hunt  yester- 
day and  to-day,"  he  wrote;  "bagged  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  and  calculate  to  make  up  a  round 
thousand  before  we  have  done.  In  the  upper 
story  of  this  den  they  flare  up  through  the  night 
with  a  vengeance,  and  the  sound  of  their  wings 
is  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  yea,  as  the  sound 
of  many  waters;  so  that  sleep  departs  from  our 
eyes  and  slumber  from  our  eyelids." 

There  was  illness  too  in  "  Bat  Castle,"  and 
often  it  was  hard  to  get  nourishing  food,  es- 
pecially during  the  Buddhistic  Wah,  or  Lent, 
which  lasts  from  July  to  October.  One  day  Mr. 
Judson  said  to  the  Burman  purveyor: 

"  You  must  contrive  to  get  something  the 
mama  can  eat;  she  will  starve  to  death." 

"What  shall  I  get?" 


l82  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

"  Anything — anything." 

Well,  there  was  a  capital  dinner,  but  they 
couldn't  find  out  what  it  was.  Cook  said  he  didn't 
know — but  he  grinned  a  horrible  grin.  In  the  eve- 
ning the  bazaar  man  was  called  and  questioned, 

"  What  did  we  have  for  dinner  to-day?  " 

"  Were  they  good  ?  " 

"  Excellent." 

Then  came  an  explosion  of  laughter  from  the 
bazaar  man,  in  which  the  cook  joined. 

"  Now,  tell  me,"  demanded  the  master,  "  what 
were  they?  " 

"Rats!" 

Thus,  making  light  of  the  seamy  side  of  life, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  toiled  on,  Mrs.  Judson 
learning  the  language  and  finishing  her  life  of 
Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Judson. 

But  Rangoon  was  still  in  Burmese  territory, 
and  the  government  did  all  it  could  to  hinder  and 
distress  the  mission,  and  after  a  year  and  a  half 
of  toil  and  suffering  there,  Mr.  Judson  was  com- 
pelled to  return  to  Moulmein,  where  until  his 
last  sickness  he  worked  steadily  on  the  dictionary. 

The  beginning  of  the  end  was  in  November, 
1849.  In  caring  at  night  for  one  of  the  children 
he  caught  cold,  and  the  disease  which  had  affected 


THE    PIONEER'S    FAREWELL  1 83 

his  throat  for  so  many  years  fastened  upon  his 
lungs,  and  he  failed  very  rapidly. 

Then  the  sea  called  him  once  more — and  held 
him.  In  all  his  illnesses  the  ocean  breezes  had 
never  failed  to  give  him  relief,  and  he  was  never 
so  happy  as  when  upon  the  sea.  It  was  hard  to 
leave  his  wife  and  children,  but  there  was  no  other 
way,  and  his  weeping  disciples  carried  him  aboard 
the  French  bark  "  Aristide  Marie,"  April  3,  1850. 

Mr.  Ranney  of  the  Moulmein  Mission  went 
with  him  to  care  for  him.  But  the  time  had  come 
when  the  spirit  of  the  great  missionary  was  to  be 
set  free  from  his  worn-out  body.  The  end  came 
v/on  April  12;  1850.  "  His  death,"  said  Mr. 
Ranney,  "  was  like  falling  asleep.  A  gentle  pres- 
sure of  the  hand,  growing  more  and  more  feeble 
as  life  waned,  showed  the  peacefulness  of  the 
spirit  about  to  take  its  flight." 

Now  the  ship  was  far  out  at  sea,  and  there  must 
the  burial  be.  A  plank  coffin  was  made  and 
heavily  weighted.  At  eight  o'clock  in  the  eve- 
ning the  crew  assembled,  the  larboard  port  was 
opened,  and  in  perfect  silence,  broken  only  by 
the  command  of  the  captain,  the  body  of  the 
Pioneer  of  Burma  was  committed  to  the  deep. 


184  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

The  pioneer's  alert  figure  disappeared  from 
human  sight  forever.  His  clarion  voice  will  never 
again  waken  the  echoes  among  the  pagodas  of 
Pagan  or  Mandalay,  nor  call  out  from  the  way- 
side, 

"  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth !  Come  ye  to  the 
waters!  " 

Yet  listen ! 

It  is  night  in  a  village  among  the  Burman 
mountains.  The  dark  summits  loom  in  the  dis- 
tance as  the  flaring  lamps  light  up  a  scene  in  the 
center  of  the  town.  A  fine-looking  young  Karen 
stands  before  a  group  of  boys  and  girls  and  young 
people,  and  around  them  are  gathered,  watching, 
most  of  the  people  of  the  village. 

The  young  evangelist  lifts  his  hand. 

"Ready;  sing!" 

At  the  wave  of  his  hand  the  sweet,  clear  young 
voices  break  forth: 

I  sing  because  I'm  happy, 
I  sing  because  I'm  free! 

"  Good !  Now,  be  sure  you  sing  it  like  that 
next  week  when  the  people  are  here  at  the  Asso- 
ciation.   Now,  all  together,  the  Psalm !  " 

And  where  the  name  of  the  true  God  was  so 


CHRISTIANS   AT   KAREN   JUBILEE 


A   KAREN   CHOIR   AND   BAND 


THE    PIONEER'S   FAREWELL  185 

long  unknown,  out  into  the  night  rolls  in  full 
volume : 

"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  there- 
of;  the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein." 

This  is  Th'ra  Soh-Yur,  the  twentieth-century 
successor  of  Ko  Tha  Byu,  for  whom  the  pioneer 
toiled  so  earnestly.  He  has  been  in  the  village 
less  than  a  month;  yet  the  people  have  already 
built  him  a  chapel,  and  the  children  have  learned 
to  sing  and  repeat  many  passages  from  the  Bible. 
Is  it  not  the  pioneer's  voice  yet  speaking? 

The  scene  changes  to  one  of  the  larger  towns. 
Who  are  these  that  come  from  the  rice-fields,  the 
valleys,  the  rivers,  the  forests,  and  the  mountains  ? 
They  come  in  throngs — missionaries  and  native 
Christians — to  the  All-Burma  Convention.  Mis- 
sionaries are  there,  successors  to  the  pioneer,  who 
labor  at  such  distant  stations  that  they  have  never 
met  before,  though  they  have  been  in  Burma  for 
years.  And  native  Christians — Burmans,  Karens, 
Chins,  Shans,  Talains,  Kachins — all  are  there. 
Six  days  of  meetings!  How  eagerly  they  talk 
about  the  things  of  the  kingdom !  How  gloriously 
they  sing,  in  many  languages,  all  blended  into 
one  hymn  of  praise,  "  All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 
Name !  "     What  a  marvelous  blossoming  out  of 


l86  JUDSON    THE    PIONEER 

that  first  prayer-meeting,  when  there  were  present 
the  pioneer  and  the  first  two  Burman  converts. 

Once  more.  In  the  homeland  now.  Down  at 
the  wharf,  to  watch  the  sailing  of  a  ship. 

No,  not  the  "  Caravan,"  but  a  big  ocean  liner, 
the  twentieth-century  successor  of  the  "  Caravan." 
On  her  deck,  among  the  hundreds  of  passengers, 
there  is  a  group  of  missionaries.  Some  of  them 
are  veterans,  returning  again  to  the  front  after  a 
furlough.  Many  of  them  are  young,  almost  as 
young  as  Adoniram  and  Ann  Judson.  They  are 
going  out  for  the  first  time,  and  some  of  them  are 
going  to  Burma.  They  are  young  people  of  to- 
day, but  in  their  eyes  is  the  look  that  tells  that, 
like  the  pioneer,  they  have  "  farther  to  go  than 
Boston." 

Slowly,  surely,  the  great  ship  moves.  From  the 
throng  upon  the  wharf  rises  the  voice  of  song, 
"  God  be  with  You  till  We  Meet  Again."  The 
ship  that  towered  so  grandly  grows  smaller  and 
smaller  in  the  distance,  till  it  is  lost  in  the  multi- 
tude of  other  craft.  But  the  mighty,  far-sounding 
sea,  that  received  to  itself  the  weary  frame  of  the 
pioneer,  shall  bear  onward  the  ship  to  its  destina- 
tion. And  as  the  years  go  on,  another  and  another 
shall  hear  the  call,  and  until  the  churches  of  Jesus 


THE    PIONEER'S    FAREWELL  1 87 

shall  supplant  the  idolatrous  monuments,  and  the 
chanting  of  the  devotees  of  Boodh  shall  die  away 
before  the  Christian  hymns  of  praise,  there  shall 
not  fail  in  Burma  devoted  successors  to 

Judson  the  Pioneer. 


Date  Due 


